Problems of the next four years

(11/3/04)

This article was written Monday evening, and this means that any political musings I have for the week are really dependent on the outcome of Tuesday's election. So this leaves me in a very awkward position, what the hell do I write about this week? Do I rant about Kerry or blindly praise Bush? There is a chance that by the time this newspaper is available this country will still have no decision just like in the 2000 election. I'm not even going to bother with details on that scenario because the networks are going to pound the possibility of that outcome (or lack, thereof) during the night of November 2nd.
What I am sure of is that this election has already accomplished one thing: this country has become divided and bitterly so. With the last-minute polls I've seen these two men are neck and neck and whoever won has a huge rift to mend in order to lead the whole of this nation for the next four years. Whether it is the Democrats or the Republicans that will need to be reached out to by the President or President-elect, it is imperative that we unite as one whole in order to efficiently and successfully lead this country in the years to come. We must put the bitterness and hatespeech aside after this showdown and reach across the aisle to solve a few lingering problems. Sadly, with the amount of lawyers each party has retained for this election, the re-counts, and unlawful allegations may go on for some time after the 2nd.
What we need to do after the election shenanigans that are sure to be well underway by the time this article is in print is unify the nation in order to get some things finished that need to be attended to. Most notable of these problems is Iraq, of course. We need to figure out a definite exit-strategy and figure out how to make Iraq in to a successful and productive independent democratic (or at least Democracy-friendly) nation.
This is much easier to theorize than it is to implement but it is something that needs to be done. There is a pro-American sentiment in Iraq, we simply need to keep up their hopes and protect these individuals enough where this ideology can spread. Elections must be held soon in order to hopefully quiet the insurgency. Iraq needs it own army in order to defend it from terrorist influence and it needs positive economic development in order to eliminate any threat of despondency in the population. What Iraq has is oil reserves and we should, quite frankly, use those reserves to put money in the hands of the Iraqi people. There is no surer way to turn the Iraqi people on to Democracy than to make them participants in the economic benefits of the capitalist society. The Mideast needs a working and productive democracy in order to stabilize the area and make this world a safer place. Call me the Great Satan or American Devil all you wish, my fundamentalist brethren, but it will work.
With Iran's parliament recently voting to move forward with plans to enrich their nuclear materials we have to give serious thought to how we are going to deal with this definite threat. With pressure already being applied in the form of economic sanctions by Britain, France, Germany and other nations we must be prepared to neutralize the Nuclear threat posed by Iran, which is beyond a doubt, an ally to the terrorist cause.
In a recent interview President (or former President) Bush committed to sanctions and diplomacy, but did not rule out the use of military force. I personally believe that the use of military force is inevitable in Iran and later in North Korea, but these wars will much likely be a more global effort and hence, more friendly to the formerly mighty-now gutless Europeans. In any event, we must be ready and able to move our troops out of Iraq and focus on other terrorist strongholds such as Iran.
The development of Iraq would mean a more stable and productive economy and limitless trade opportunities which would only serve as a boost to an otherwise strengthening domestic economy. The Bush Presidency inherited a declining economy and was dealt a blow by Sept. 11, but has rebounded nicely and a wartime economy has helped fuel recovery. Also, this (or the former) President has insourced a tremendous amount of jobs, despite what many liberals have stated. A telling statistic I overheard at a Campus Republicans meeting is that despite the outsourcing of many blue-collar factorytype jobs, we've insourced millions of more specialized positions in such fields as civil engineering and accounting. This country is no longer an industrial powerhouse. Leave the labor-intensive factory jobs to the Chinese, our country is now in a postindustrial mode where technology and highly specialized positions are the need.
No matter who wins or has won this elections there is a lot to do in the next four years and these are only a few of the quandaries that need to be focused on. This country must come together and accept these challenges in order to further cement our nations place as the superpower of the world and as the leader in the fight on terror and maintain its status as the City on the Hill for all the world to look up to.