Yes, I can admit it. Hello, he won the election - so I wasn't the only one who did...
I'm going to start with a disclaimer - I'm not an overly political person. And the past few years of my life the television has been pretty much tuned to Noggin, Nick Jr., or the Disney Channel. So I know I'm not politically-saavy, and I know I'm opening myself up to some potentially valid critcism (at which point I could start posting about the tax code, or the ridiculousness of Sarbanes-Oxley - which I can actually speak intelligently about). I'm not afraid to learn something new - nor am I embarrassed by what I don't know (if you can't admit deficiencies, how can you learn?). Quite frankly I'm not overly embarassed by many things - but that's a whole other post.
So lately I've been doing some blog hopping and have happened upon some blogs that I really enjoy. Some are mommy focused, some are not. A lot of them seem to be anti-Bush or very pro-democrat. One blogger posted a comment on my blog questioning why I voted for George Bush in the last election. Valid question, so I'll answer it.
Because Option B was John Kerry.
Do I consider myself Republican? For the most part, yes. Conservative? Relatively so, but it's an issue to issue thing. When I cast my vote, particularly for a presidential election, I do not vote along party lines, I vote for a candidate - and their supporting cast of characters. The first time Bush ran I voted for him - not because I was overly anti-Gore, but because I thought fairly highly of some the people that would be in office with Bush. Colin Powell was someone I respected immensely. Dick Cheney - not so much, but I sorta thought he'd drop of a heart attack before he ever got through year one of the vice-presidency.
As we all know, that election was a frickin' nightmare, but I can't be the only one who felt safer with George Bush (or more accurately, his staff) at the helm in the weeks following 9/11. I can't imagine the nightmare that would have been if Gore had been in office. Please do not misconstrue - I am not actively supporting the Iraq war (although I didn't have a problem with it in the beginning - I'm not going to pull a Hilary here!). I am talking very specifically about the weeks, even first year or two, after 9/11. I was glad I voted for Bush.
Here's another reason I'm glad I voted for him. Check out your tax bill. If you're married, with two children, it is now substantially lower than it would have been under a democratic administration. As a CPA I can actually speak to this intelligently. I can tell you that my tax bill is easily $4000 less as a direct result of changes to the tax law. I can look at the economy, my investments, and see a marked improvement over the past 7 years. These are things that matter to me, and to my family. I've got to give the current administration some credit for them.
Let's move on to the second election, or as I like to refer to it: The one the Dems didn't try to win. Had the Democrats thrown up ANYONE who had even a remotely decent chance at running our country successfully I would have voted for them in a heartbeat. Instead they threw the election. No one likes running against an incumbent (how do you think Bill Clinton, a relative unknown at the national political level, got the nom back in 92?). The Dems highest profile potential candidate, Hilary, was definitely going to run for President, but needed more time as a Senator under her belt. I guarantee you she and Bill had a conversation that started with this question: "Who can we back to run in this election that won't actually beat George Bush?". Somewhere there is a cocktail napkin with a list of democratic nopefuls (no typo there) with one name circled "John Kerry". Kids, I'm a Masshole. I know Kerry. And any of the democrats that knew Kerry knew he wouldn't win. Which is why they put him up to begin with.
So that's why I voted for George Bush. Because I didn't have any better options. I'm looking forward to 2008, and to hopefully getting to choose the candidate I want, instead of voting against the candidate I know I don't want.
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4 comments:
I can't see why you would feel safer with GW Bush at the helm after 9/11... for God's sake, the man went and hid in a bunker in Nebraska rather than return to Washington or going straight to New York.
In that day, he showed us his true character. Oh, sure, we saw it when he weasled out of going to Vietnam, but we saw it in living color on 9/11. George W. Bush is a physical coward.
GF -
I think that in times of crisis the secret service has fairly specific plans regarding safeguarding the president - and that if Gore had been in office he too would have been shuffled to the bunker. I'm not going to argue that Bush isn't a physical coward, but I don't think he should have been in either DC or NYC. Remember, there was the fourth plane, and no one knew what the hell was going on and if more attacks were to come.
I felt safer because he took action - specifically the attacks on Afghanistan - fairly quickly after we had ascertained that Al Quaida was behind the 9/11 attacks. I don't believe that Gore would have been so bold, or acted very quickly. That's what I meant by being safer with the Bush crew in office at that time.
This is not to say that I currently feel safer with him in office, nor do I believe that we should be in Iraq right now.
A) The Secret Service doesn't TELL the President what to do... you'll have to trust me on this.
B) A Leader leads from the front. Period. THat's one of the major benefits of being in command.
C) Going to war against a country makes you no safer than you were before the war started. You cannot defeat or defuse terrorism with military force.
I don't think you should ever have to justify your vote. You voted for the candidate you felt offered you, yours, and your country the best chance at pursuing life, liberty, and happiness. That's it. Plain and simple. Whether or not other people agree with your decision is another story. Hindsight is 20/20 and makes people either idiots are geniuses depending on which side of the debate you are on.
Life is a crapshoot, and one man, despite being on the trigger of the most advanced military machine to ever exist, does not change the world...he may temporarily shape it, but he does not change it.
Now, personally, I think GW is arguably the worst president this country has ever seen, but I blame him less than I blame the religious right and conservatives in general for not seeing the forest through the trees. But I wouldn't fault you for voting for him... more than half the US voting population joined you... Twice.
For the record... I didn't vote for him, but only because I believed his interest were corporate in nature and not in the best interest of the American people.
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