Posted on 10/24/2004 6:49:51 PM PDT by squirrel1014
It comes down to this: President Bush tells people what he will do. Sen. John Kerry tells people what they want to hear. Bush is confident in action even when mistaken. Kerry is comfortable in passivity even at high cost. So neither candidate is perfect, but one is a better choice. Overall, Bush has been an effective leader in a time of unprecedented threat.
From the presidential debates and the political platforms, it has become clear that Bush better understands the president's duties to America. Bush foes misread his resolve as arrogance and mistake his commitment for stubbornness. But his unwillingness to ease back in the struggle against terror is a strength: Not only will he hunt down terrorists, he is willing to confront the countries that shelter terrorists or lend financial support or other comforts to them.
Yet voters are right to be unsatisfied with Bush's performance in specific instances, and they should expect a chastened and better- grounded Bush administration to perform more effectively in a second term. Among other challenges, Bush must appoint Supreme Court judges that will uphold the Constitution, not pass a right-wing litmus test. Bush also must re- establish credentials as a fiscal conservative. His Medicare prescription drug coverage will cost a fortune, as will continued and expensive farm subsidies.
But Kerry is worse: An unabashed taxer and spender, his expensive health-care plan will do little to reduce rising costs. And among the many gaps in his platform, Kerry has no plan to sharply reduce the staggering federal budget deficit created by Bush's cut-taxes-but-spend-more doctrine.
The Bush administration's insular self- assurance undermined what could have been the finest moments of the president's first term. Inaccurate intelligence, inadequate planning and overconfident execution of the Iraq war overshadowed a fine accomplishment: Our troops toppled a mass-murdering dictator and eliminated his bloodthirsty heirs, setting an oppressed people on a path to freedom.
As an alternative to Bush, Kerry presents a formidable intellect, an international outlook and liberal voting record. But his tailored rhetoric betrays an ambition that outstrips his undistinguished public service and limited qualifications for president.
Kerry has a surprisingly low-profile Senate career over 20 years. He voted against the Persian Gulf War, betraying his comfort with passivity, and he believes too faithfully in the power of talk through diplomacy and government process to solve all problems. But Kim Jong Il doesn't parley, he only threatens; terrorists don't engage in talks, they just kidnap people and kill them.
Through chat, Kerry hopes to reduce terror to a "nuisance," an unseemly and ill-chosen term that suggests the grisly beheadings of a few Americans now and then is an acceptable and unavoidable consequence of our envied position of privilege in the world.
And, of course, there is the nagging bugaboo of Kerry contradictions: So he votes to go to war but not to pay for it? And does he want to be seen as a war hero or an antiwar hero? No matter: Whether he touts four months in Vietnam or a few years on the antiwar barricades, neither experience qualifies him to lead the country.
At least Bush offers clarity in intent, which is as important to relations with allies as in sending messages to enemies. In a second term, Bush will not shrink from challenge or shirk his responsibility to act in the nation's best interest, even when that path takes his administration into a political minefield. Kerry, despite his oratorical flourishes calibrated to "strength" and "resolve," will walk more meekly in the face of growing dangers.
Bush has presided steadfastly over extraordinarily consequential times. He rose to the unprecedented challenge posed by the attacks on America of Sept. 11, 2001. He has effectively overseen a transformation of government from deliverer of largesse to provider of security. He promotes a positive, and yes, idealistic view of the power of democracy. Should we expect anything less from the leader of the free world?
No president performs flawlessly. Yet in the end, strong reservations about Kerry's overall suitability for the presidency outweigh our sharp disappointment with Bush's prosecution of the war in Iraq.
The Wisconsin State Journal editorial board recommends the re-election of George W. Bush as president of the United States.
Not everyone in the Dairy State is a "Cheesehead".
"Overall, Bush has been an effective leader in a time of unprecedented threat. "
Great endorsement. I hope it will mean a point or two for Bush in Wisconsin.
Is this the one out of MADison? If so, lemme run to my window to see the pigs flyin'.
" Kerry is comfortable in passivity even at high cost."
In today's critical times, we cannot afford Kerry's passivity in the face of danger.
Classy endorsement. Another indication many more people are taking what happened on 9/11 seriously and understand the number one threat to America could become even bigger under a Kerry Administration.
run to your window now. I was just in Madison this last week and am SHOCKED at this. I don't even know what to say.
Texans love Wisconsin!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is the Madison based paper... I started laughing this morning when I read it :) This has to show sKerry isn't doing well in Wisconsin!!
Surprisingly, it is. Boise just selected a new police chief from Madison.
This is the "conservative" liberal paper in Madison, WI. The Captiol Times is the "maxist" liberal paper.
Speaking as a resident of Dane County (but thankfully not "57 square miles surrounded by reality" Madison) it would be so satisfying to see the Deaniacs weeping into their soy lattes on Nov 3 -- this should help!
This is huge in the state of Wisconsin. You think the N Y Times is liberal? This speaks volumes as to who is going to carry Wisc. There are Bush signs all over Central Wisc. This weekend the UW-Stevens Point campus allowed Michael Moore to speak. The fact that there was no one to rebut should be an embarrassment to the UW system. Madison is a bastion of liberal thought and to have the Wisc. State Journal endorse GWB is an October Surprise!!
Madison, has two papers. The Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times. Expect the Cap Times to endorse Kerry. Even though they are both owned by the same corporation and are run from the same building, they try to come at issues from different directions; way left and the extreme left.
The faculty in Madison must be contemplating Molotov Cocktails for the state Journal.
Not only are the pigs flying, I hear they're ice skating in hell. Man alive!
>> Not everyone in the Dairy State is a "Cheesehead".<<
Being a Cheesehead is a good thing if you live in Wisconsin.
Dear Cheeseheads. We love you.
Yes we do. I married one of those conservative Wisconsinites!
I went to Hooters to watch the Packer game today, 66 degrees American! when I left, God Bless Fake Global Warming(TM).
But no flying pigs.
But, UW-Madison will probably engineer some soon enough, so hold your breath.
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