MASSIVE ENDORSEMENT 2K4
(close your eyes and pull the Donkey's leg)

This has been the most visibly lowbrow campaign in a very long time.   It's not that politics has suddenly become a dirty game, it's always been that way, but the veneer of civility that used to coat nationwide elections has been stripped clean, revealing two men who seek office above all else, for egocentric purposes, and will employ any and all variations of the classic suckerpunch technique to achieve their political destiny.   Too bad, because as cliché's go, 'This is the most important election in our lifetime' holds a lot of water.

Terrorism, retiring baby-boomers, the possible radicalization and inevitable rearming of Europe, global warming, and education deficiencies are but a few of many huge issues that must be dealt with decisively and with a clear mind before the curtain drops on this decade.

We've learned that George W. Bush and John F. Kerry care deeply about their children and our nation, but they seem to they care about themselves much more.   That's okay, talent and ego tend to room together, yet in a larger sense there is no getting around the fact that given the whole of intellectual and leadership capital in the United States, a presidential contest between an evangelical failed businessman and a pretentious equivocator is a rather pitiable choice.   I sometimes still dream what would have been if the 2000 vote was between John McCain and Bill Bradley, and in darker moments wonder if there is not something inhuman, yet sentient and ominous, slyly conspiring against us.

Presidential campaigns are usually referendums on the incumbent.   Given that, if we were not in the middle of a large, and growing, multi-front war, George Bush would not have a sick dog's chance in a duck-retrieving contest of winning this election.   Bush has combined the worst attributes of traditional liberalism— expanded government, growing deficits, added entitlements, and militarily projected global idealism, with the worst of traditional conservatism— irresponsible tax cuts, environmental deregulation, backward social policies regarding gays and religion, insular thinking, and extreme business cronyism.   Take away the War On Terror and attendant national security issues, and it's painfully clear that Bush, though a nice enough fellow, is basically an incompetent administrator, much as he was an incompetent businessman.   But those national security issues are not going away.

The War On Terror and it's associated tendrils of national security issues will be a central feature in United States policy for another generation, especially when we understand that the world is legitimately more cluster-humped than it was four years ago.   A cursory glance around the Middle East, Russia, parts of Europe, and most of Africa reflects little better than portent.   East Asia seems to be the exception, and it is strange days indeed when one is encouraged to look towards the shores of China and Japan for beacons of global stability.   Terrorism is an age-old tactic, and in its present guise is being used to create enough insecurity and instability across the globe to enable Islamofacist regimes to gain power from Cairo to Islamabad.   However, the instability created by successful terror campaigns can reach deeper, as we are seeing in Russia.  Our leader needs to be on top of this, needs to understand what really encourages terrorism— lost hope, anger, etc., and use carrots as well as sticks.  

Bush has shown that he is a compassionate conservative who is perfectly willing to bomb the hell out of anyone who attacks us, but does any serious person think that even a Carter-esque leader would have let the Taliban stay in power after 9-11?   Does any serious person believe that the world didn't get our message after we overthrew a hostile government some 8,000 miles away without breaking a sweat?   After Afgahnistan, everyone knew we meant business.   Yet we went further, we went to Iraq (which I supported, and given competent administration will continue to support), and belabored the fact that no one is bigger and badder than we are. Yet terrorism grows as a social cancer that attracts legions of recruits willing to blow themselves to bits to prove a nihilistic point. Indeed, Bush has shown the resolve to smash things that displease him, and he has shown the kindness to say nice words about the will of God to make all humans everywhere free. It doesn't make sense to me either.

Bush has not, however, shown the resolve to commit properly to securing and rebuilding Iraq, to preparing the citizens of our country for the real sacrifices needed to fight a real global war.   Wars, in terms of blood and money, are quite expensive.   The Bush Administration never gets around to mentioning this.   We were never prepared for the reality of steady casualities and some $200 billion per year that runs hand to hand with all this smashing and peacekeeping.   Bush has not shown diplomatic resolve in gathering folks with different opinions and agendas onto the same platform. Bush has not shown the resolve needed in calling out Vladimir Putin, who, as I write, is in the process of incorporating Belarus and Ukraine back into the Soviet, er, Russian fold.   Maybe the Russians deserve authoritarianism because they have nukes…maybe that's why Iran and North Korea deserve authoritarianism.   We'll never know the truth with Bush in office for he has not shown the resolve to deal with these gathering menaces in a coherent way.   Bush dealt with Iraq, no doubt about it, and 18 months after the overthrow of one of the most odious dictators of the modern age, Iraq's security is more of a mess now than it was before the invasion.   Anyone with a functioning brain knows that federalism and freedom and free love and the like can not flower without a bedrock layer of security to support it.   Why on earth didn't Bush take this truism to heart?   We can do better.

Kerry has emphasized that he will stay on the offensive regarding the War, but also that he will use diplomacy whenever possible, that he will engage leaders with different opinions and will shy away from directly offending those who might otherwise be our allies.   In sum, Kerry has promised not to rub the noses of democratically elected leaders in their own excrement should they disagree with the American Way.   Bush called out France—a democracy with a population roughly 80 – 20 against the war, and yet has given Russia a free pass in Chechnya, which is so different than the battle against Al Queda that their only similarities rest in their tactics.   Does this promote freedom and its attendant values?   A Kerry administration would have been able to bring 'Old Europe' along one way or another, and most certainly a Kerry administration will explain to Vladimir Putin, behind closed doors for starters, that Russia's drift towards Stalinism does not help the cause.

Kerry also understands our current reality enough that he plans on expanding our military.   The next President will have to get serious with Iran and North Korea, and God forbid, Russia.   A military expansion is a must, which may or may not mean a draft.   Kerry is also committed to making Iraq work, and honestly, we have no choice.   If Iraq remains a failed state, things will get nastier all over, quickly.   Of equal importance, Kerry has pledged to work harder in securing our porous borders and sea ports.

Regarding the other aforementioned issues of the campaign; the environment, taxes, education, and domestic infrastructure, I honestly cannot see how Bush's approval rating could crest above ten percent, but maybe I'm not breathing in enough paint fumes….

Thomas Friedman, of the New York Times, made a great point a couple years back when he suggested that Bush should lighten up on the tax cuts and provide more funds and direction to bolster our military and national infrastructure.   After 9-11, Bush had an unprecedented opportunity to rally the nation to a great cause of his choosing, whether it be weaning our nation off the petroleum teat, which seems quite salient in today's geo-political climate, or truly remaking our education system in a way that well-paid and accountable teachers help to churn out students ready to contribute to our information economy, whether those kids went to school in Grosse Pointe or Compton.   Kerry happens to feel the same way.   As we know, Bush's vision was tax cuts, and a once in a lifetime opportunity behind the veil of tragedy was squandered.

Bush also cuddles up to a basic philosophy that government should cater to powerful business interests over the interests of individuals…all the while touting the benefits of personal freedom...weird.   The best lines of conservative thinking dictate that government should get out of the way of business dealings, yet encourage a level playing field between business competitors while making sure consumers are not exploited.   In today's age of powerful corporate lobbyists and cronyism, better business models and better products do not always translate into success.   The Bush Administration, for all its pro-business rhetoric, supports businesses that line the right wallets.   One only needs to spend fifteen minutes researching the origins of California's 2001 energy crisis for concrete affirmations of the aforementioned.   Then there are added issues of wasteful farm subsidies combined with protectionist tariffs against imported steel that expose the supposedly free-trading and free-business Bush Administration as nothing more than a pansy for the monied few.   This is not whining about class warfare, this is simple truth.  

Kerry wants to deflate the bloated corporate welfare state yet encourage the viability of cash-challenged small businesses while adding taxes to large corporations who ship their finances and production to overseas plants and tax shelters.   One benefit of Kerry's 20 years in the Senate is that he really does know how things work, and he is truly interested in bringing a measure of fairness to our business climate.   During a speech at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club earlier this year, Kerry pointed out that he is an entrepreneurial Democrat, who believes in nurturing a pro-business environment for all as a vehicle towards social justice.   That's light-years ahead of what Bush has given us.

On matters concerning the environment, we've all learned that Bush deems the concerns of his business clients far more important than the concerns of the planet.   Here are a couple things to keep in mind:   First, CO2 levels are rising at an accelerated pace, meaning that the planet is warming at an accelerated pace, and leaving folks who know to conclude that maybe it's better to trim a bit from business profits than being forced to build a line of seawalls, pumps, and levees along every freaking mile of our coastline, because given our current direction, this is something we're going to be faced with inside of a generation.

Now, there are plenty of decent folks out there who rightly point out that the United States is not the Earth's only emitter of greenhouse gasses, though we are the largest at roughly 20 percent of global output.   The gist of the matter is that if we do not lead in this endeavor as we are supposedly leading in the War On Terror, then might as well start throwing up them seawalls pronto…which would be great for the construction industry.   Once again, Kerry understands this, and has vowed to engage the world in implementing a treaty regarding global warming, followed by action.

Bush is obviously incurious and dangerously ignorant on important matters regarding national security, the environment, education, fiscal discipline, and sometimes he's spooky with his religion— but that happens to reflect a good portion of our registered voters, for good or ill.   Kerry has made some huge mistakes in his campaign strategy, for example, overselling his four months in Vietnam.   Kerry has also demonstrated with his staged hunting and ski trips, and Rolling Stone interviews, that he is a poseur of the highest order.   But these deficiencies are tiny in comparison to policies enacted by the Bush Administration as a matter of forethought and principle.

Bush seems the epitome of kindhearted folksiness, which resonates nicely across the heartstrings of millions. Though Bush is scheming political operative of the first order, think of his tactics against John McCain during the South Carolina primary, his bedrock supports look strictly to his self-professed Christian heart and Texas twang, and from that, assume that our President is a straight shooter. From this, we see that being personable and empathic are major criteria for being a good President.   The Bush Twins obviously adore their father, but none of this makes a good administrator.   Voters need to appreciate the difference.

The Left has not helped matters by amplifying the rants of Michael Moore and his fellow travelers.   What that cat has done is a hair short of sickening.   There are so many valid claims to support the notion that Bush is an incompetent War Leader that resorting to conspiracy theories and pretzel logic of the stripes that color Fahrenheit 9-11 was a massive disservice to the country and campaign.   The fact that Moore actually believes that his anti-Bush diatribes will help Kerry win the election speaks to his limited intellect.   Should Bush win re-election, Michael Moore will be forever someone I blame.   Admittedly, Moore will reside about 50,000,000 people down the blame-list, behind everyone who voted for Bush.

Millions of voters will choose Bush this year because they perceive that Bush will keep America safer (doubtful, considering our post 9-11 actions), make government less secular (certainly), protect our seniors (possibly), and finally because this Andover-Yale-Harvard educated Texan is somehow 'regular folk.'

If Bush wins a second term, it won't mean the end of the world, it'll just get a bit nastier than it needs to be.  We will be increasingly isolated in the world. Europe will start re-arming in earnest just as it deals with a massive economic shakeout resulting from two generations of socialist policy. The Supreme Court will lurch even further to the right. The gap in the United States between the affluent and everyone else will widen, and with predictable results.   Maybe that extra dose of Jesus and general faith will keep them huddled masses mellow, but it will not make it right. A large percentage of the electorate does not seem to grasp this in any meaningful way. Maybe it's because life is a grind— fed with working, raising kids, and watching whatever new twist of reality tv tripe that passes for entertainment.   What the hell?   When dire threats loom on the horizon, unperceived by the ignorant and incurious, why worry when there will always be plenty of time for action when those threats are right atop your front porch, making every subsequent decision you make pre-soaked by fear.  

Kerry, for all his faults great and small, understands this.   It is entirely possible that John Kerry will prove to be more feckless than Carter, yet it is slightly more likely that Kerry will be the uniter that the uber-divisive Bush once claimed to be.