Bush vs. Kerry: Round 3

(10/20/04)

After the third and final debate last Wednesday night, the nation is supposed to have made up its mind and readied itself for the stretch run in to November. Not so, good friends, the last debate was a toss-up, depending on which side you're personally skewed towards. Kerry was arrogant as ever; Bush was personable, but shaky. What we have to remember is that these debates didn't tell us, as voters, anything new, all it proved to do is make the nation aware of the annoying quirks each candidate has.
When I saw John Kerry laying out his preposterous plans for cutting the deficit without raising taxes I did not only see the man with the most liberal voting record in senate history, I saw a smirking, smug man, too full of himself to realize that he is so disconnected that he's actually confident in himself. Why is it that every time Mr. Kerry was asked a specific question, he didn't answer the question, he instead made a remark about the President's current administration?
President Bush had a few momentary lapses, most notably his inexplicable return to the topic of 'No Child Left Behind' when the question dealt with the economy. Bush, however, came across as personable and a genuinely likable man in this debate. Of course this is subjective, but even his most vocal opponents give him the edge in the personality category. In Arizona last Wednesday, George W. Bush laid out a real agenda where he will continue to help the economy progress and keep this country safe from terrorism, no matter what any other country says. Bush is a man with convictions and while people may not agree, it is my opinion that this conviction and solid commitment to his goals that will ultimately sway voters in the big swing states in this year's election.
The week of the debate and during the debate itself, the Kerry, Edwards Camp were forced in to major cleanup duty. After the passing of Christopher Reeve, Kerry's VP choice (and hotshot, mulleted, southern-boy, trial attorney) John Edwards made a comment promising that if he and his Massachusetts running mate were elected in November that all of those people afflicted with paralysis and similar conditions would be able to get up in their chairs and walk again. This comment was directly used to push the issue of embryonic stem-cell research and its uses in the treatment of patients with paralysis. With Edwards proposing Jesus Christ will be a member of the Kerry cabinet, John Kerry was able to further emabaress himself, this time during the last debate. When the question of same sex marriages and homosexuality was raised, Kerry mentioned Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter. This was irksome not only to the Bush, Cheney folks, but also to many of the undecided voters, who saw it as a personal jab at Cheney and his family.
After Kerry's initial post debate boost, the polls have swung back in to the President's favor this week. Some polls have the President up by as much as ten points over his slipping opponent. With the last two weeks of this election season most likely being spent in the big swing states such as Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, we're likely to see a few surprises, but expect Kerry to shoot himself in the foot while the President keeps a low pro- file and eliminates the danger of being misquoted or fouling up his lead himself.
On a side note I am pleased to say that the Republicans I had been searching for in my article last week appeared and we are now working together to create a more vocal and organized group on campus. I urge you to contact me by email or look out for signs up around campus containing the yet to be determined meeting dates and join in to crush the liberal presence on campus. If you want to volunteer before this election, I recommend going to the ctvictory. com website and signing up, I have worked with these people on numerous events and are helping out the reinvigorated Campus Republicans.