If Al Gore had won, and had presented the exact same budgets as George Bush has, everyone on this forum would have been up in arms about it, and the Republicans in the Congress would have done everything in their power to prevent the legislation from passing. But because Bush is "our guy", he gets a pass on it. Why? Because he's "taking issues away from the Dem's", and they won't be able to use them against him in November.
In my book, when one party's issues are advancing and another declining, then I'd say you have a clear indicator of which party is actually "winning". And from this seat, the party that controls both the White House and both chambers of the Congress is the one caving in.
The coffers were emptied by the Clintons.
The economy was in serious decline.
Our nation's security was at risk (pre-911)
Our dedicated military was in very serious trouble.
The opposition (dems, big media, socialists,etc) had/have their long knives out with the intent of destroying Bush (Nixon style).
The Clintons politized all aspects of the government, even the electoral process, the Secret Service, and non-political appointments and employment.
Now, with all of the forces of darkness against him (dems,dictators,UN,communists,our big media,terrorists,radical religious nuts, hollywood, socialists,etc., etc.) With a government in near shambles, thanks to the Clintons. With being faced with a challenge, that most men would run from.......remember Carter hiding out in the Oval Office? At the height of an economic, political and security nightmare,(with the dems all the while doing every thing possible to make the nightmare worse), Bush and the people he surrounded himself with were faced with yet another major nightmare....our homeland attacked by an enemy....an enemy spread out over several areas of the globe.
Is it any wonder that our military needed to be built up again, that much needed weapons needed to be manufactured (even the basic stuff was in short supply), that the coffers need to be filled again, that programs needed to be instituted, such as Homeland Defence, that America needed to be reassured that someone was in charge?
So, while President Bush is getting the job done, an extremely hard job, that he can only do with the help of God and the prayers of the people of this country, the best you can come up with is that he has been too generous to children, the elderly, the poor and the downcast, "taking issues away from the democrats", that he is spending too much non-military money.
The Clintons cleaned out the bank account...........the economy was tanking...........the military was cut off at the legs.......we are now at war, not a little war, but a full time war, a very, very serious war.
You have to be smart enough to know that if Bush would have taken the "hatchet" to social programs during these times of real trial, that all the above mentioned extremely powerful "dark forces" would have had the ammo they so dearly needed to ultimately defeat and destroy him.(Think back to the 90's when the republicans only wanted to hold the line on the growth of social progams....the dems and the big media successfully painted the republicans as evil, hateful beings bent on turning our nations' children and elderly out onto the street with no clothes and nothing to eat, remember? This tact allowed them to turn the focus away from a corrupt president and instead onto the "meany" republicans. The republicans did not want to make any cuts to the programs, only hold the line on growth, and they were crucified, and a presidential felon was allowed to stay in office)
Please answer me this question........why would any responsible leader, up to his elbows in crocodiles swarming through the front door, turn around and open the back door and allow more crocodiles into the room?
We are winning. We are winning the war against terrorism, we are getting the economy back in shape, the military back in shape, the government back in shape......but, good grief, give the man some breathing room.......after the elections in 2004, we will get the deficit back in shape and even more.
I am a conservative, a fiscal and social conservative. I want less waste, fraud and abuse. I want America to be as great as she can be. I want the whole world to be free.
Should we speak up about things we hold dear? Sure we should. But if you and others withhold your vote from Bush because he wouldn't open the back door and let more crocodiles into the room.......well, then you will deserve whatever type of Clinton-like scum you help elect.
Again, I say these things with due respect, because of your pen name.......but, believe you me, George Bush is by far more like the real John Locke than all of the other presidential candidates combined.
Peace be unto you and yours, Bob, and Merry Christmas.