This
is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE (1-08-04)
This has
certainly been a weird and depressing exhibition .
First of
all....I can’t ever remember when there were nine candidates seeking the
Democratic nomination to run for the Presidency.
Not only
that.....but every one of them says that he or she has all the answers to run
the country. Not only
that, but I don’t think the general public has ever been exposed to the kind
of rhetoric that is coming from these candidates.
We have a
President who has struggled through first one catastrophe after another.....the
9-ll terrorist attacks.....the false bookkeeping of a number of top stock
companies.....the huge drop in the stock market....and the joblessness that all
these chaotic events caused.
Through it,
President Bush has met the problems head on.
The war in Afghanistan was the beginning of an all out campaign to
destroy the terrorists rather than wait for them to attack us again.
The war in Iraq came when Saddam Hussein posed a threat to this country.
But.....all we
hear from the Democratic contenders that President Bush...and most often they
just say Bush......they call him a liar....they call him dumb.....unfit to run
the country.....blast his tax cut as merely a gift to the rich....despite the
fact it gave tax relief to virtually everyone.
They blast
his Medicare changes.....despite the fact that the changes will benefit those in
the lower income the most.
Certainly in my
book.......Politics.....at least the type being practiced by the Democratic
contenders....has hit a new low. At
a time when our men and women are facing danger in Iraq....these candidates
praise them and then say....it was the wrong war at the wrong time for the wrong
purpose. What
hypocrites.
Not only are
they busily engaged in degrading the President, they have no scruples about
tearing each other apart in a dog-eat-dog kind of fashion.
Never....and I
say Never has the American public been subjected to such an idiotic, senseless
political campaign as these nine have put on.
The American public has shown that it is sick and tired of politics
especially the type that knows no bounds of decency or honesty.
There’s also
the strange sight of politicians like Al Gore and Bill Bradley taking sides and
backing Howard Dean who avowedly can’t quite seem to know where he stands from
time to time.
I think a
recent Democratic ad that compared President Bush to Adolph Hitler really hit
the bottom. Odds are it
is only the beginning of the tirades , mis-truths and exaggerations that will be
forthcoming when the campaign gets down to a two man campaign.
I guess what
bothers me also is wondering what the rest of the civilized world thinks of this
country when they see these utterances.
Because the
President wouldn’t take his hat in hand and beg the French and the Germans to
come help in Iraq....he’s been accused of being a failure in foreign affairs.
Well....beyond
Iraq.....Afghanistan involves over a hundred different nations.....over thirty
nations are taking part in Iraq.
James Baker
has secured pledges from Germany, France, Russia, and even Japan to cut the
amount of money owned them by Iraq. Mommar
Kdafhi has given up any nuclear ambitions in Libya....Iran has done the
same.....now North Korea wants to do the same.
Yes....the war
on terror continues....and will perhaps for a number of years to
come......Afghanistan has adopted a new Constitution,
the council in Iraq is moving toward a new constitution, and hopefully
the conflict between Israel and Palestine may be moving toward a settlement.
All these
accomplishments didn’t just happen. They
stemmed from the President and extremely competent members of his cabinet such
as Condeleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others.
In my book, the
rantings and ravings of these Democratic candidates has only confirmed the
general public’s low opinion of politics and that’s too bad because politics
is really the life blood of a free society.
This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.