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Sept. 9, 2004 With all of the hullabaloo surrounding the candidates’ campaigns, real differences between the two actually have emerged. George W. Bush and John Kerry have very different visions of the future and the course on which each would take the United States. There are multiple differentiations but, I will address only three: the Iraq war, the economy and education. Iraq war: President Bush has made his position clear. He believes that terrorists must be sought out and neutralized on their turf, as opposed to fighting them on our soil. The President has said, since the 9/11 tragedy, that fighting and destroying terrorism would be a ‘long fight’ and that the American people needed to ‘prepare themselves for it’. The President supports the funding of our troops in all possible ways. He also believes that liberty and freedom are inherent rights given by the Creator to all people. One of his statements at the RNC convention summed up his stance: “By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world.” John Kerry’s positions have been alternately for the Iraqi war (he voted for it) and against the war; his positions change on a regular basis. Mr. Kerry said that, even without the WMDs, he would have voted for going to war with Iraq. However, as of last week, he is (again) against it. When Mr. Kerry was for the war, he voted against funding the necessary money to support and sustain our troops. He has also stated that he would bring our troops home within 6 months of his being elected. Recently, however, he said that he would ‘try to bring them home within 4 years’…or by the end of his first term in office. I must confess that I didn’t listen to his speech, yesterday, so I don’t know if he still holds either of these positions. Economy: Using US Labor Department statistics, President Bush believes that most jobs are created by small businesses in the private sector. Therefore, in order to immediately stimulate the economy, he proposed and was able to pass a tax-cut/tax-relief bill (in conjunction with Congress) for all taxpayers. It’s working. Business has been stimulated and well over 1MM new jobs have been created this year. Even taking into consideration all of the jobs lost after the 9/11 catastrophe (and recovering from the Clinton/Gore recession), we hold the position of the fastest growing economy on the planet. On the flip side (and against all historical data to the contrary), Mr. Kerry has stated that he will raise taxes. Traditionally, raising taxes slows down and/or stops a thriving economy. He also appears to believe that government should create jobs. As it isn’t a government’s task to create jobs, I’m in the dark as to how Mr. Kerry would affect them and Mr. Kerry hasn’t given us any specifics. Education: In a public school system that was patently failing, President Bush has already implemented “No Child Left Behind” legislation; which (among other things) places teachers in “accountable” positions. Early results from this program indicate that it is working. So that all students can enjoy a superior education, the President also supports vouchers. Although Mr. Kerry initially supported (voted for) the No Child Left Behind program, he says that he is now against it. He has also said that he is against vouchers and would continue to give money to the existing status-quo school system. So, there you have it. These differences between the two candidates are clear. One has plans and the other doesn’t (or is unclear as to his plans). One is in the process of implementing new plans for the growing future of the country and the other either wants to maintain the status-quo, raise taxes or doesn’t seem to quite know what he would do. Mr Kerry changes his mind, depending how he feels on any given day. Finally, this morning I heard this passage: “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”- James 1:8. Pretty much says it all. ------------ About the author: About the author: Sher Zieve is a Conservative political commentator, appeared on the CBS program "Mysteries of the Millennium", has been included in "Who's Who in the West", "Who's Who in the US" and "Who's Who in Entertainment". Ms. Zieve is the author of "The Scattering-Book 1 of Earthseed" and her website is: www.e-kard.com/earthseed. Email: earthseed@iwon.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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