Who should become president of the U.S????

[mrbmwrob]

KERRY GETS MY VOTE

[Brian Gluckman]

I know nothing about North-American politics.

I guess anyone other than Bush, so...

[eCkS]

i hate Kerry he talks too much crap about W... and if W gets to be president again they'll be another d :-Xm war in some poor @$$ country... this november i might stay at home or i'll go vote for Ralph Nader...

[thejoyof6]

Kerry seems to be the most open minded presidental canidate so hes got my vote so far. I want my right to marry legally dangit! mabye one day......

[Titandan]

I really didn't like Bush when he ran in 2000. However as president, I really got to like him and after 9/11 I think he did the best to his ability, what could have been done. WMD's or no WMD's, I know that he is looking out for what's best for the US.

I don't really like Kerry's strategic political approach in this presidential race. All he seems to be doing is complaining and pointing fingers at GWB without devicing a plan for himself.

I always ask libs what Kerry stands for and all they could say is, "He can't be worse than Bush." They really don't know what Kerry stands for.

All of us could complain about the war on terror all we want, but none of us are running for prez. In order to be leader we need to have someone who will lead.

I don't think taking orders from the UN qualifies as leading.

I honestly don't know what the best approach on the war on terror is. But I do know what Bush stands for. Kerry? I don't think Kerry knows what he stands for. Maybe we should ask Koffi Annon or whatever his name is.

If Kerry wins, I would be interested to find out what Kerry would do if he would become president. Just curious. What would he have done if 9/11 hit us while he was in office? Hmmm...

All I know is that we(Democracy) are dealing with an enemy that knows no mercy and they aren't reasonable people. I don't think negotiating with them will work. They want to destroy us whether we are democrats or republican or liberatarian.

I used to be a liberal and am still registered democrat, but I do know that now is not the time to be playing politics.

One vote for Bush.

-dan

[Brian Gluckman]

I just do not believe in war. I live in South Africa, and we aren't to ovulnerable a country, in fact we are quite stable. I lived in Canada for a long time, and this is still quite different.

But to go into a country like Iraq and have so many people killed... it is horrible. I have talked to someone who went over with an organization that simply makes the people feel loved, and helps them clean their houses and take care of their children etc... he said the Iraqi people think things were better before. Until it is all over, that is, anyway.

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PS!!!! IMPORTANT!

Most forums allow no political discussions. This will be our only one, I should hope, but we must remember. All this is OPINION. Nobody here is right or wrong.

OPINION! Thanks, everyone... continue.

[mrbmwrob]

My dad had a co worker of his who was in the U.S army reserves, and he had to go over to Iraq for a year. He just came back, and told him that that was the worst year of his life, pretty bad I guess. I just have a problem with Bush sending over so many troops when he was too much of a coward to join the military. Instead he jumped in front of like a 3 year waiting list or something to get into the reserves because of Daddy, because the reserves didn't go to Vietnam. Then no one knows where he was for 2 years when he was supposed to be in Alabama in the reserves. Sorry, just had to let out some steam there

[Brian Gluckman]

No problem. That was actually quite restrained...

[hjr]

2 B honest: John Edward was my choice. I had read all 3 voting records(Kerry, Bush, Edward...Not Edward(S), liek papaers call him. There's no "S" on the end of John Edward).
For MY interests(DAV/VA issues), Kerry AND Bush voted against military issues(the good of the retired, disabled vets, the hospitals,and active duty military personel)than Edward EVER had. In fact, Edward usually sided with DAV/vets,etc, on most of the issues that made sense.

He may have been a first term man, but he was for the people more than the other 2 combined( he also sided with Social Security receipients for the bennies).

Now, Kerry is (almost?) "begging" Edward to be his vice-president! (read it in the papers and saw a clipp on tv news about them meeting about it).


I dunno.

It gets old; they all promise you a pot of gold over the rainbow, but never deliver,lol.

[Titandan]

Before I start this post, just a little disclaimer. I don't mean to offend anyone with my comments. Please acknowledge it as opinion.

If John Edward was in the mix I would be interested in what he would stand for. But since he is not and all we are stuck with are Bush and Kerry, I think I will compare the two.

Kerry has been very weak in terms of appealing to me because he just seems to be disingenuous with his actions.

When he is at one interview, he has a private Jet( megadethmartyr gas-guzzler) and many SUV's. When he is questioned about his comments in owning SUV's at an environmental summit, he states that he doesn't own any SUV's. That the SUV's were his family members'.

He even stated himself that he "did vote for his $87 billion before the voting against it."

Here are a couple of quotes I found...


Mar 19, 2004: After a secret service agent inadvertently moved into his path during a ski mishap in Idaho, Kerry was sent falling into the snow. When asked a moment later about the incident by a reporter on the ski run, Kerry said sharply, "I don't fall down." the "son of a $*#&^ knocked me over."

Someone that appreciates those that are there to protect him....


This comment was made less than a month after saying:


The republican critics are "the most crooked ... lying group I've ever seen."

"I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly but, boy, they look at you and say, 'You've got to win this, you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy' -- things like that"

“I’m an internationalist. “I’d like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations.”

I don't know about you, but if he is running for presidency of America, I want him to use our troops to protect our country when our leaders feel necessary not at the directive of the UN.


Oct 9, 2002: "I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."

Sep 6, 2002: "If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement, even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act."

Jan 23, 2003: "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."

Wouldn't it be just totally bizarre if Kerry said something like that today? Interesting how it was less than two years ago.

Dec 2, 2003: "Did I expect George Bush to f@(& it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did."

Dec 15, 2003: "Iraq may not be the war on terror itself, but it is critical to the outcome of the war on terror, and therefore any advance in Iraq is an advance forward in that..."

one month later

Jan 30, 2004: "I think there has been an exaggeration," Mr. Kerry said when asked whether President Bush has overstated the threat of terrorism. "They are misleading all Americans in a profound way."

Mar 16, 2004: "I actually did vote for his $87 billion, before I voted against it."


Finally...
One funny but characteristically cheapshot comment took place when Bush fell off his bike and reporters got this on film. When Kerry was told about this event, he remarked, 'Did the training wheels fall off?' At first I laughed at this because it was witty but after some thought felt disgusted at the sheer disrespect thrown at the President of the United States.


Now I think Bush may not be the sharpest president we've been accustomed to. However, I think he surrounded himself with tremendous intelligence and support in his administration.

I also see him as a genuine character and though redundant at times, a very respectable person. He just seems to be a cool person to hang out with and doesn't really intimidate as someone like John F. Kennedy, or Kerry for that matter, might.

I know what Bush stands for and it is to not back down from any danger that potentially terrorizes us. Tax cuts for the rich and the poor which will boost jobs, economy, and wages earned. Tax cuts will also help in slowing companies from outsourcing. Believe it or not, a high minimum wage doesn't help the economy overall.

Here are some quotes from Bush:


"I take personal responsibility for everything I say."

"I think the intelligence I get is darn good intelligence."

"I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun."

"If Iraq fails to fully comply, the United States and other nations will disarm Saddam Hussein."

"If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy or steal an amount of highly enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, [it] could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year."

"If you're asking me as the President, would I understand reality, I do."

"In my sentences I go where no man has gone before."


"It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas."

"Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time."

"Presidents, whether things are good or bad, get the blame. I understand that."

Concerning 9/11/01

"Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

"I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."

"Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear."

"On September 11 2001, America felt its vulnerability even to threats that gather on the other side of the Earth. We resolved then, and we are resolved today, to confront every threat from any source that could bring sudden terror and suffering to America."

"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended."

"Great tragedy has come to us, and we are meeting it with the best that is in our country, with courage and concern for others because this is America. This is who we are."


Presidential Election 2000

"I understand I'm running against a person who is so anxious to become president, he will do whatever it takes."

"I don't know whether I'm going to win [the election for President] or not. I think I am. I do know I'm ready for the job. And, if not, that's just the way it goes."

Not the smartest thing to say, but honest.


Some stupid funny quotes...


"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country."

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

While I'm the first to admit, he is not the most eloquent of all people. How eloquent are most the us? How well spoken is Bubba out in the middle of Idaho? And how stupid we could look if we were quoted for saying some of the things we say everyday.

Agree with him or not, I see him as a genuine, consistent President that brought some sense of character back into the White House.

His quotes are rather comical at times and it is hard to imagine a joke of a president as many like to suggest, but I do believe that his actions are very honorable and he does mean well for our beloved country.

I apologize for this lengthy post, but I do believe that we all should be well informed about who we are voting for. If you think I'm biased, I'm open for conversation and I encourage any of you to do some research before voting instead of watching a political propaganda film such as Farenheit 9/11(in which the premise is entirely innaccurate).

Thanks for your time and God bless.

-dan



"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty."

-JFK

[Brian Gluckman]

Thanks for being reasonable Dan, and for making a disclaimer first.

I am so glad to have a site that isn't politcally corrupt with arguments about these topics.

You have given me something to think about...

[whitefeather]

All i can say is WOW to your post Dan. great post. but if i may i think that Mr. Magoo is who i am going to vote for. because these to guys make me both wrong. Bush should have went in and cleaned the floor in Iraq and got us out of there...And then theres Kerry comes home and throws his medals away, to me thats a slap in all AMERICANS faces . I am proud to be an American...thats all i want to say...

carl

[Titandan]

I guess political topics could be very sensitive.

I'm glad all of us have our differences and hope to continue the respectable manner in which we communicate with one another.

Let me know if I get out of hand.

Good job by the moderator(Andrew MacGregor) and thanks for adding this sub-forum(I guess).

-dan

[Titandan]

Thanks for the kind words Carl.

I guess some historians and theorists think that the philosophy of the Vietnam War and the other such conflicts such as the Korean War was to just contain the Communists.

I find it hard to believe that American Government did that and decided to sacrifice so many of our baby boomers so that we could just contain the Communists.

I did some research on the Korean War and General MacArthur was really upset and was taken from leadership in Korea because President Truman didn't want to do what it took to defeat the Communists. Today we know that that was a terrible mistake that haunts us to this day.

Kerry was a fervant anti-Vietnam/anti-War public figure after the war. While I do not want to take anything away from his service, I do find it rather hypocritical for him to remind everyone of his service as an honorable service and then turn around to tell of his horrible experiences as his fellow soldiers, "raped, cut off heads, cut off other body parts, pillaged, burnt villages. Did things that were remenicent of Ghengis Khan."

Kerry could have said these comments to judge our country above the scale in which we put other countries, and we need to be above reproach. However, it seems that the personal and political attacks toward the policies and character of Republicans and administration doesn't seems to be stopping any time soon.

Kerry did throw away medals, and he admitted that they were his medals years ago. Now he is stating that they were other medals that other soldiers gave him. He also stated that he threw away his ribbons and that words ribbons and medals, back then, were "interchangeable."

Depending on what interview your watching I have a feeling he will have differing viewpoints and conflicting stories.


As for getting our troops out of Iraq, I think that will take some time. I would like for them to come home too. However, we are constantly reminded of the type of people we are dealing with with all the televised beheadings and suicide bomb missions that are reported.

The policy of this administration is that which will plant a seed to sprout in the middle of a very hostile part of this world. If we succeed in ensuring Iraq as a healthy democracy, I believe that it won't be too long before some of the other countries in the Mid East follow.

The last paragraph was strictly a hypothesis as to what I believe may happen if the conditions are right. However it will take a great amount of patience from us.

As to your Mr. Magoo comment, I believe that George W. resembles Magoo more than Kerry.

God bless you all!

-dan


"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty."

-John F. Kennedy