I got to thinking last night as I watched "The Reagans" (the movie that was suppose to air on CBS but was cancelled due to controversy)
There was a part when in the campaign for the 1980 election, in a debate with Pres Carter, Ronald Reagan asked the people if they were better off today then they were 4 years ago.
I ask this question again. Are we better off as a nation then we were 4 years ago? Emphatically YES.
Is the economy better? YES. It is more well rounded and less dependant on one sector (tech) as it was in the '90's. Car sales' rates at an all time high of 17,500,000 per year. Record home ownership percentages. Super low interest rates, super low inflation rates.
Is the US' fiscal health better? YES, GDP is way up. The Stock market rebounded and 401k's are filling back up. People are feeling better about themselves and more secure.
Are we safer? Not yet,. Realize we will never be truly safe again. All we can do is be on our guard. But look, we haven't had a single attack since 9/11. How many attacks did we have when Clinton was in office? Trade center, Cole, Mogadishu, etc.
Are we more respected in the world? YES, by everybody but the French and Germans who wanted to keep their oil contracts with Hussein intact. The rest of the world now knows we have balls and will come to their aid when needed and that we will do what we say.
Are our citizens' more employed? Unemploment rate during Clinton presidency (5.6%), now 5.5% and the population has grown.
Are our citizens' more secure in their jobs? Not if you are a $8/hr, 40/hr/wk factory worker. We have to change the education system in this country so people can create a skill set to compete with other nations. The global economy has caught up to us. It is time for us to make the next leap forward by retraining displaced workers or convince people to pay more for American made products, which people simply will not do. We are our own worst enemy when it come to losing jobs. People will not pay more for a comparably-made product, even if it is Made in America. Change that mindset and you begin to address the problem of outsourcing..
Are we happier as a nation? YES, everybody except for the Gore supporters who still can't get over the fact that they lost the 2000 election.
In 1980 I answered - NO - I answered No to Jimmy Carter.
in 2004 I answer -NO- I will answer YES to George Bush. Strong leadership, strong fiscal policy. The airlines are almost back to pre-9/11 levels. I never would have thought that possible.
Facts are facts. for 4 years the economy has been terrible. The fact is, we have had tremendous growth the last 2 years after getting out of Clinton's recession. Stock market has been way up. Parking lots at shopping malls are brimming with people. Even with high gas prices, people are driving more.
Unemployment has been terrible. Sure, people have lost jobs. Uneducated workers in America will suffer the most because those tasks can be easily performed for way, way less overseas, with the quality being at par with the work done here.
We have a deficit now when we had a surplus in 2000. Come on. we had a treasury that was filled with IOU's from wildly inflated portfolios and then the market crashed, (before Bush took office). That helped caused the deficit. So did 9/11. Do people really have that short of memories? The deficit is very manageable as a % of our GDP. That should be the measurement. Not a number that sounds huge. Put it in percentage terms and compare it over the last several decades, you will be surprised.
People dont feel secure in their jobs. People aren't happy in their jobs and cant change cause there are no new jobs to change to. The world looks at us with disdain and hatred. We aren't a happy people. Hopefully enough of us representing 270 electoral votes will continue to be happy and that is why we are voting for Bush. For continued optimism. For hope. For a better, freer, safer world for our kids to grow up in. For a democratic Middle East.
Bush seems to have only convinced us that we have to be these heavy handed people in the world theatre. The whole attitude seems to be "Do it our way, right now, or your our enemy". Wrong, he says, join us in our attempts to make this world a safer place, but understand, if you do not support us, we will do it without you.
There have been scandals..... The torture of Iraqi prisoners, (Did Bush sign an an executive order telling these few handful of soldiers to do this? Is that what you are saying?)
Halliburten overcharging us for oil after getting a No Bid Contract for Iraq. Halliburton was the only company qualified to do the work. Period.
(Dick Cheny's the former CEO. Of course, Enron. (Ken Lay is a close friend of the Bush family). Stop watching Michael Moore. Everybody that has interviewed and challenged him has humiliated him, including Ted Kopple.
And the fruitless search for WMD. Look to Iran and Syria and you will find the weapons. Or do you now argue that they never existed? Do you want to see the quotes from Clinton and Kerry and half the Democratic leadership that says they existed? Don't forget, there is alot of sand out there to bury things in.
Is this all Bush's doing? Probably not. Thank you!
But what has he done positive for our nation? I'll start on the book.
What has he done sucessfully? What has he accomplished? I'll take some time and list them all and then I will list all the things that the Democrats have stonewalled. Give me some time on this.
Maybe i'm missing it, but I dont see anything Bush accopmplished besides point on a map to Afganastian and Iraq and ordered our military to invade.
Someone please explain to me what Bush has done in the last 4 years to deserve my vote? I will. I only ask that you have an open mind and be willing to accept the truth, not as laid out by the media, but as how things have actually occurred.
:Bang