Bush or Kerry, who would be worse for defense?

Submitted by Maryallene Otis (United States), Mar 9, 2004 at 16:11

Mr. Kerry repulses me with his hippocrisy and his dishonesty. Nevertheless, I question whether our national defense in better hands with George W. Bush and his administration. President Bush is seen by so many as a representative of both freedom and capitalism, and yet, he is neither, and therefore harms both.

Despite some inspiring speeches, the current Bush administration has been largely one of appeasement and missed opportunities. While we were justified in attacking Iraq, because of the threat it posed to the United States, Iran and it's support of so many Islamic terrorist organizations is a far bigger threat, and should have been our first target. Also, Iran is now actively sponsoring homicide bombings in Iraq, which the administration knows. We participate in negotiatians with North Korea (which has concentration camps) and with Iran. We maintain diplomomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, a proven state sponsor of terrorism. We chide Israel for not trying harder to "make nice" with the Palestinians who want to destroy them, rather than supporting Israel in defending itself. Colin Powell, the reincarnation of Neville Chamberlin, is still Secretary of State.

On the domestic front (granted, national defense comes first), President Bush's strongarm tactics in pushing through his expansion of Medicare tells us that he is not a supporter of economic freedom, i.e. capitalism.

No one has yet convinced me that President Bush is a better choice than John Kerry come November. Sadly, George W. Bush gives national defense, one of the highest priorites of national government, a bad name. Which is worse, a president who says he supports national defense and then doesn't, or someone like Kerry who could at least generate a backlash he is so anti-American?

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".