Buccaneer
11-04-2004, 07:42 PM
I don't have much more to say about the election, so here's a good summary from our local libertarian-influenced paper's op-ed piece:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=760 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top background=/images/main_border2.gif></TD><!-- this is the main guts of the page --><TD vAlign=top width=564 bgColor=#ffffff height=328><TABLE width=560 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=380><!----story starts------->Our View
November 04, 2004
Close call
President’s narrow escape also a wake-up call
The people have spoken, even if what they’re saying isn’t always clear. Now we’ll all have to live with the results, for good or ill. A razor-thin margin of victory for President Bush should send a sobering message to the White House that Americans are not altogether happy with the president’s policies and leadership, on Iraq, on the economy and on fiscal policy. It would be regrettable if the president and congressional Republicans mistake these results for affirmation, or a mandate for the status quo. They are plainly skating on thin ice.
A bloody and protracted guerrilla war in Iraq is likely to drive even deeper divisions between Americans, and is clearly unacceptable. With re-election politics removed as a factor, Bush must lay out a decisive strategy for victory in Iraq, or at least an acceptable and dignified exit. Hopefully, Iraq will temper whatever impulse remains in this administration for international adventuring and precipitous military action against less-than-certain threats.
We worried that a John Kerry victory would have sent an encouraging message to Iraqi insurgents, terrorists and hostile nations. And while we don’t believe a Bush victory will make any of these threats go away, this remarkable show of resolve on the part of the American people has to have registered as bad news among those hoping their bombings, kidnappings and beheadings would cow the United States.
A lackluster economy and jobs picture also were factors in Bush’s narrow escape. The question now is what to do about them? Kerry’s approach would have emphasized protectionism and using government to micromanage the economy and “create” jobs. Bush and a Republican Congress would do better to begin peeling away the endless layers of red tape that make it expensive and difficult to do business in America and compete in the new global marketplace. New tax policies are needed that don’t punish success or discourage personal initiative, but encourage productivity and entrepreneurship.
We fear that a consolidation of the Republican majority, especially in the U.S. Senate, could actually worsen the fiscal situation if the president doesn’t learn how to use the veto pen and the party formerly known for its fiscal frugality doesn’t come to its senses. It’s a sad day for Republicans when Democrats such as Kerry can pose as deficit hawks and actually be taken seriously.
Kerry, to his credit, ran an amazingly competitive race, nearly defying the conventional wisdom that an eastern liberal can’t get elected president in this era of a solidly Republican south. And he showed class and true statesmanship in quickly conceding the race when the results became obvious, sparing the nation a replay of 2000.
To us, this election seems to have been a case of Americans preferring the devil they know over the devil they don’t. Our hope is that this will motivate the president, unencumbered by the need to win another term, to act boldly. Second presidential terms are notoriously lackluster; we’re hoping this president will buck the trend.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=760 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top background=/images/main_border2.gif></TD><!-- this is the main guts of the page --><TD vAlign=top width=564 bgColor=#ffffff height=328><TABLE width=560 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=380><!----story starts------->Our View
November 04, 2004
Close call
President’s narrow escape also a wake-up call
The people have spoken, even if what they’re saying isn’t always clear. Now we’ll all have to live with the results, for good or ill. A razor-thin margin of victory for President Bush should send a sobering message to the White House that Americans are not altogether happy with the president’s policies and leadership, on Iraq, on the economy and on fiscal policy. It would be regrettable if the president and congressional Republicans mistake these results for affirmation, or a mandate for the status quo. They are plainly skating on thin ice.
A bloody and protracted guerrilla war in Iraq is likely to drive even deeper divisions between Americans, and is clearly unacceptable. With re-election politics removed as a factor, Bush must lay out a decisive strategy for victory in Iraq, or at least an acceptable and dignified exit. Hopefully, Iraq will temper whatever impulse remains in this administration for international adventuring and precipitous military action against less-than-certain threats.
We worried that a John Kerry victory would have sent an encouraging message to Iraqi insurgents, terrorists and hostile nations. And while we don’t believe a Bush victory will make any of these threats go away, this remarkable show of resolve on the part of the American people has to have registered as bad news among those hoping their bombings, kidnappings and beheadings would cow the United States.
A lackluster economy and jobs picture also were factors in Bush’s narrow escape. The question now is what to do about them? Kerry’s approach would have emphasized protectionism and using government to micromanage the economy and “create” jobs. Bush and a Republican Congress would do better to begin peeling away the endless layers of red tape that make it expensive and difficult to do business in America and compete in the new global marketplace. New tax policies are needed that don’t punish success or discourage personal initiative, but encourage productivity and entrepreneurship.
We fear that a consolidation of the Republican majority, especially in the U.S. Senate, could actually worsen the fiscal situation if the president doesn’t learn how to use the veto pen and the party formerly known for its fiscal frugality doesn’t come to its senses. It’s a sad day for Republicans when Democrats such as Kerry can pose as deficit hawks and actually be taken seriously.
Kerry, to his credit, ran an amazingly competitive race, nearly defying the conventional wisdom that an eastern liberal can’t get elected president in this era of a solidly Republican south. And he showed class and true statesmanship in quickly conceding the race when the results became obvious, sparing the nation a replay of 2000.
To us, this election seems to have been a case of Americans preferring the devil they know over the devil they don’t. Our hope is that this will motivate the president, unencumbered by the need to win another term, to act boldly. Second presidential terms are notoriously lackluster; we’re hoping this president will buck the trend.
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