2004 Presidential Election

I received an email the other day entitled "He's done more damage than we thought" (author unknown) which is a list of failures attributed to President George W. Bush. After careful research and analysis to verify authenticity, I have come to the conclusion that the American people will fire George W. Bush on November 2, 2004 and hire John Kerry by a landslide of votes. I will summarize this list and comment where appropriate.

A. Foreign Policy

1. "Bush is the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community." While it is true that Congress authorized the President to invade Iraq, the fact that U.S. intelligence was so conflicting brings into question the judgment of Bush. I too was wrong in pushing for the removal of Hussein rather than staying focused on Bin Laden and the other terrorist organizations. Further, it is doubtful that Hussein could have developed WMD under the watchful eye of U.N.weapons inspectors and regular sorties flown by U.S. fighters throughout the no-fly zones (not to mention satellite surveillance). Kerry will need to initiate reconciliation through an international summit of European and Middle Eastern nations to begin the process of cleaning up this mess in Iraq (and worldwide). After the summit, the world will witness the slow withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and the quick advancement of U.N. troops into Iraq.

2. "Bush recklessly put U.S. soldiers in harms way by invading Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction which still have not been found." In doing so, he has compromised the war on terrorism by directing 200 billion dollars for an overt combat operation as opposed to a covert operation. The United States has lost over 1,000 soldiers and thousands more are severely maimed prompting some to ask: hey hey GWB, how many kids will it be? The wiser choice would have been to invest 50 billion dollars in covert operations and 50 billion in homeland security. Besides, using conventional troops to fight terrorists is similar to the British army using regulars to fight French guerrillas during the Revolutionary War. Consequently, volunteerism for U.S. military service has sharply declined for all branches prompting rumors of a draft. Kerry will need to redirect resources to enhance homeland security while getting many more nations to share in troop and money commitments overseas especially in Iraq. He will also need to push Saudi Arabia and China to administer sanctions against Iran and North Korea to prevent further nuclear proliferation. Most importantly, however, he will need to fight terrorists overseas through covert operations.

B. Domestic Policy

1. "Bush spent the U.S. surplus and shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history." Bush's tax cuts to the wealthy along with irresponsible subsidizing of the war in Iraq has taken the U.S. budget from dark black to bright red all in the span of four years. Another four years of this squandering will bankrupt the United States. The remaining 100 billion dollars (from above) could have been invested in domestic programs like health care, education and the infrastructure. Kerry will need to revoke the tax cuts for the rich and reduce the United State's financial/military commitment in Iraq. These two changes (along with others) should result in a balanced budget in four years with the possibility of a return to a budget surplus in eight years.

2. "Bush entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down. His first two years in office resulted in 2 million Americans losing their jobs AND he cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US History." His presidency has been the most "in-your-face" support of the wealthy whether it be tax cuts, the lack of an energy and environmental policy, failure to crack down hard on corporate corruption etc. Kerry will need to bring back former Clinton advisor Robert Ruben to turn the economy around just as was done after the failed administration of Bush Sr. Kerry will need to fast-track the operationalizing of alternative energy sources in order to reduce U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil specifically and world oil in general. As a former prosecutor, he will need to push for long-term prison sentences for those committing white-collar crimes and reduce the difficulty of prosecuting the likes of Ken Ley.

Conclusion

The failures by George W. Bush, the viable alternative of John Kerry, the massive number of newly registered voters, the amount of attention being given by the American people on this election and the mass media trying to spin this race as being close are all clear signs of a Kerry landslide. On the November 2, 2004 the people will speak loud and clear.

Landslide? Unclear, Kerry has a slight edge, that is all. Kinda like what Gore had

This an election being decided primarily by emotion to an extent that really surpasses common reasoning. People think Kerry has his shit together in one sense but know he is as much of a political puppet as any other politician hoping to not be blown of by the public in, and they know he is both a politician and a lawyer, so trust is an issue. What I don't get is the ever too common idea of people liking Bush so much, he's kind of a dick, he acts far too righteous in his own mind to be anything but scary to me, anyone who doesn't properly question things around them is blind to danger, Bush claims vigilance but promotes not changing possistion or goals. And people follow people who say they are right, as long as they say it in a way that appeals to them.

I don't know that Bush even thinks for himself, from his religious views he takes a lot of COMMANDS from god and promotes religious beliefs (legislatively :i.e. CONSTATUTIONAL AMMENDMENT against gay marriage, and why, to protect the sanctity of marriage, that marriage is between a man and a women, well where do you get that information, and what is the sanctity of marriage, what does that even mean?) (And Kerry agrees? Does he promote the ammendment too?) (Do you realize that that ammendment tells people they don't have the right to marry someone of their choosing, unless it meets certain guidelines? Who's guidelines and what purpose does such a possistion serve?)

I hear the UN is as Corrupt as OUR OWN GOVERNMENT, so that one is up in the air for me.

Every life is precious, reduce abortion, but bomb the fuck out of people innocent or not to KILL or maybe capture any and all terrorists. Thats an interesting concept. Including getting a lot of our own people killed, even in friendly fire, do you know how many deaths in all wars even this one are caused by "not" so friendly fire?

Kerry has an interesting past, just real quick, Viet Nam vet, 2 tours I think, Had to have his discharge uprgraded many years after the fact, was a war protestor to an extent after his tour(s) and during the war. Spent some 20 years on the US Senate. He's been around the political block a few times. Is a Lawyer, and that's basically what I know at least that I can think of at 5 in the morning.

As for his post being unbiased, well, you could have fun watching what any republican has to say to that.

Its weird too, when they do their polls (unofficial) they say that Bush people want to keep him but want him to do things different,( uh, since when does it work that way?) well good luck to those fools, Bush isn't about change, just as he isn't about right and wrong, good and bad, he is about his "moral" values (which people just eat it up when he says that but they don't ask or care what his morals are, trying to comprehend that I get a cramp right here in my brain).

Well people, just keep in mind his grand moral values have killed lots and lots of innocent people, even our own, its a reality that cannot be overlooked, and some of his morals may be just peachy, and then the only reason the war is like it is, is because he is either stupid, arrogant, completely evil, or far too quick to jump into war without a GOOD plan.

What will be the pulic mentality if, or when, the American death toll reaches that of 9/11 (3,000 +/-), that would be interesting to see. Would we instate the first presidential execution? But I hope that day doesn't come, ever.

We want our kids and citizens to be open-minded, respect, and not to discriminate, but our president wants to ban gay marriage, wtf? Should we make em sit in the back of the bus too? Wants to promote marriage while banning marriages, I'm not eating ice cream yet my head hurts, wants to protect life by reducing abortions (though he wants them banned too) while he bombs both pregnant women and children, DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER (even a 60's robot knows that doesn't make sense), doesn't think governments should fund religious organizations but does anyway (for good causes so far as I've seen though, can be deemed simple charity, still contradictory)

Why people defend Bush as anything other than just another political weasel is far beyond me, the fucked up system we have is far to corrupt (and big in general) to be controlled by any one man and his cabinet, so even if he wasn't a hoser to begin with, he was the day he started campaigning for office.

All the info in original post here is so muddled by the candidates, its hard to know whats real, (I'm guessing that was the plan all along) , They will point blank read such numbers and statistics and then the other will say they are wrong, read off more numbers and thats what the voters information is made of, just like pat's and steve's post's, so biased, but usually based in some truth. Its to the point where the government put out the official report of no connection between al-quaida and iraq, and they will just keep insisting that there is. Not that I trust the government for shit but thats the point, its all bull shit and we are left high and dry, ignorant but passionate.

I want facts, but I'm not about to hold my breath.

Quite honestly, I'm not voting for either one... (Libertarian).

However, I do prefer Bush to Kerry; I prefer Conservatives over Liberals and except for Gore, Kerry is in fact as Liberal as they get.

If Kerry wins, we will see a National Health Care agency or program emerge. The insane obsession with Tax increase for the rich; the top rate is around 35% now; I think an increase would bring the economy to par with that of other Welfare-Nanny-States like Sweden, Canada, the UK, France, etc.

Obviously, most of you think these countries should be our role models; if your aspirations are limited to a mediocre life style, then vote Liberal; if you aim to preserve our current high standard of living or aspire to reach higher echelons of financial independence for yourself, then you should appose Liberal at all cost.

As for the War thing, it was inevitable; if not now, it would have occurred within the next 5 years or so. Once the French & Germans had tapped out their embracing 'oil-for-food' advantage, they too would have sued for War.

I dont oppose war. I oppose wars we cant win and in which we take all the bullets and the bill because we've pissed off the entire universe.

Name a country which is neither English-speaking, nor Israel which likes the USA right now? (and not the coalition of willing GOVERNMENTS).

The USA is hated throughout the middle east, is disliked throughout Europe and not liked by anyone right now. We can't go into wild adventures without friends to fall back on.

Nugamer, your idea of societal advancement comes at the cost of all those unable to be "ulitimate americans" There is no room for the weak or diabled, for compassion in general, power at all costs ends up costing all.