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Right Thinking By DAVID KAHN
President Bush's win on November 2 was evidence of the good sense of the American public. No presidential candidate since the end of the Cold War has managed a majority of the popular vote, proving our inability to reach a political consensus. But the American people have asserted their confidence in the leadership of George W. Bush on the issues that matter.
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| David Kahn |
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The campaigns were strong on both sides. John Kerry is a distinguished speaker, and he gained much ground in the debates. George Bush's campaign was not impeccable (what campaign is?) but proved to be the most successful Republican presidential bid since Ronald Reagan's win in 1984. On Election Day, the voters saw through the rhetoric of the campaign, and realized that George Bush is an unwavering leader fit for re-election, and that John Kerry was unreliable in his plan for our country.So what won this election for Bush? Most polls saw three issues at the center of people's opinions: national security, the economy, and moral values. John Kerry proved himself to be unreliable and unrealistic on all of these issues. Kerry had a weak record both in the Senate as well as on the campaign trail when it came to our nation's safety. He voted for the Iraq war, but then changed his mind, claiming to be an "anti-war candidate" on MSNBC's Hardball in January 2004. He complained that there are not enough troops in Iraq, then called for 40,000 new American troops around the world … but not for Iraq. He claimed many times that the American people were less safe than before the terrorism of September 11, but we have seen no such attacks on American soil since.John Kerry held unrealistic views of how to handle a recovering American economy, pushing for expensive government consumption while promising no tax increases for 99 percent of American taxpayers. Instead of giving hard-earned money back to the voters through tax breaks, he proposed more programs that would take money away from businesses and working Americans.But it may have been moral issues that secured the president's victory. The eagerness of some Democrats to force the gay marriage issue in the face of voters, instead of seeking a judicially sound dialogue (and compromise), turned many religious moderates who might have voted for Kerry against him. Democrats were unrelenting on the issue of abortion throughout Bush's first term, insisting that one's own religious beliefs should not influence how one governs. But after alienating all of the religious voters in this country, the Democrats were embarrassed to find their potential presidential victory slipping away due to an outpouring of voters on the religious right.
I believe that the American people will see a very successful, if not ground-breaking, second term for George W. Bush. A recovering economy will grow stronger, providing for more jobs, more homes, and more opportunity. I hope to see reformed Medicare and Social Security systems. We will win the war on terrorism under Bush's leadership, and mend our fences with the rest of the world, which have grown tattered since the war in Iraq. And even further, with the new opportunity for peace in Israel, I think we can hope for a renewed peace initiative from the United States to secure an end to the conflict in the Middle East.I didn't take an exit poll on November 2, but people still ask me why I voted for Bush. I try to think it was the economy or the war, but I believe I voted for leadership, and I believe George W. Bush proved himself to be the best leader for America at this time.David Kahn is a fourth-year double-bass student.
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