Posted on 12/02/2002 11:03:06 PM PST by JohnHuang2
I am starting to quietly admire President George W. Bush.
Oh, Bush may not be a Ronald Reagan, or even a Harry Truman, my other favourite president of recent times.
He is more a Dwight Eisenhower, who came to power with little expected of him, but as the history books will tell you, achieved an awful lot in his own way.
Bush, demeaned by the Lib-Left media, has shown a leadership our own wishy-washy prime minister never could.
But then, Jean Chretien never graduated from Yale or Harvard, never learned to pilot a jetfighter plane.
One assumes it takes some moxie to graduate from both of America's top universities, and some courage to fly a jet fighter.
Bush is busy building up his nation's defence and security agencies on the basis that average Americans deserve to be protected from their enemies.
Chretien thinks such initiatives are a waste of time and money.
Bush believes in giving Americans a wide range of tax cuts.
Chretien, under his erstwhile finance minister, Paul Martin, gave Canadians the biggest tax hikes in our history.
Bush contends Americans must have freedom of choice when it comes to health care.
Chretien says we must be like communist Cuba and communist North Korea with only government-issued health care.
Don't you think a little competition in our health care services would bring in a few more efficiencies?
No, if Canadians want a choice of their health care service they have to make a trip to the U.S. as many do, too, just like our doctors and nurses.
Look at the men Bush has around him: Vice-President Richard Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Foreign Affairs Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
All individuals of some stature.
What about Chretien's team?
Well, he has Heritage Minister Sheila Copps.
Need I say more?
I will say more.
Chretien's Deputy Prime Minister is John Manley who always has that perplexed look in his eyes.
Like a gopher caught in the headlights.
Take a look at him on the TV news and you'll see what I mean.
Chretien, as evidenced by both health care and the bogus Kyoto Accord, has divided our nation from shore to shore.
This past month, in midterm elections in the U.S., Bush' Republican candidates swept to success in both the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the governorships.
The president has united his nation behind him.
Chretien has torn our nation apart.
Just ask the likes of Alberta's Ralph Klein, Ontario's Ernie Eves and British Columbia's Gordon Campbell.
Bush has vowed to make the Supreme Court of his nation reflect the values of the American people.
Chretien has demonstrated he wants our Supreme Court -- and I use the word "our" cautiously -- to reflect the values of the Liberal party.
To many, this once noble house is just a rubber-stamp for liberal philosophy.
Just as is our supposed Upper House of Sober Second Thought.
Alberta has two elected senators, Bert Brown and Ted Morton, and Chretien thumbs his nose at them, and at Alberta voters.
Instead of following the democratic wishes of Albertans, we are plagued with Chretien's Liberal cronies.
There hasn't been a whiff of scandal in the Bush government.
Not a cabinet minister has had to resign.
There have been no Alfonso Gaglianos.
No Lawrence MaCaulays.
Neither the likes of Jane Stewart, who basically blew $1 billion of the taxpayers' money on sham job-creation program, but still stays in the cabinet.
The Bush operation is squeaky-clean.
But, then, Bush never got into the golf course business.
Never had to browbeat a federal bank for a loan to a particular hotel and golf course complex, either.
I could go on, and on -- and on.
Yet don't you think a lot of us may be living on the wrong side of the border?
Jackson, associate editor of the Sun, can be reached at paul.jackson@calgarysun.com. Letters to the editor should be sent to callet@sunpub.com.
In the coming years, GWB will rank right up there with RR and HST...
These three presidents are my favorites, during my life time...(born in 1930)
Nice killing piece.
So-the Calgary Sun must be to the right of things. Either that, or the editor is balanced. Not bad. This is a great piece of work.
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