Friday, October 01, 2004

Presidential Debate

Like many Americans, I watched the debates last night on television. I chose to watch my local PBS station because CBS was probably running a fake copy anyway. I’m just kidding about CBS. It was pretty good, the candidates were pretty informative, and clearly had similar goals, but different ways to go about them. I was particularly about the discussions regarding North Korea, in my opinion, more dangerous than Iraq. When it comes to Iraq, Kerry made it clear that more troops would be sent if he were elected. This isn’t necessarily bad, but he indicated that Bush would do nothing more. I doubt that is the case, when military commanders have requested more troops, Bush authorized it. Kerry also mentioned the “pseudo draft”, referring to the stop loss orders. This wan an obvious attempt to scare Americans into thinking they would be drafted for Iraq. The more troops idea, would most certainly require some sort of increase in the size of the military. What was not said was how this would be achieved, I think Kerry might be thinking draft himself, but of course he can’t say that until elected. Kerry had a lot of good points that Bush couldn’t really rebut. Have I decided to vote for Kerry, no, not yet anyway. I’m not very fond of Bush, but I think he has the right idea overall. I think Kerry might get caught up in a mess of indecision, send more troops to Iraq, no wait, Afghanistan, no wait, send them to South Korea, no wait, its all wrong, bring them home. That isn’t really what I’m looking for.

2 comments:

Carilyn said...

Hi Joe -- I like your logic. Obviously, I am a Bush supporter. However, I don't claim he is perfect. I do claim that he is the better candidate. In fact, I am appalled that a self-admitted war criminal has the nerve to run for Commander in Chief. A poll came out today saying the 73% of the military favor Bush. Don't we want the greatest military force in the world to be in favor of their Commander in Chief, especially during wartime? Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for posting a comment on my blog site and keep up the sound logic. Too bad the Germans don't follow the same logic (see www.talktocarrie.blogspot.com), which is sad considering that I'm 50% German (my ancestors had the sense to get out). Good luck in your decision!

Carilyn said...

Hi Joe -- One more comment. You mentioned that Kerry had a lot of good comments during the debate that Bush couldn't rebuke. I highly disagree. John Kerry denied calling Bush a liar ... if I were GWB, I would be stunned speechless too! The irony ... how can Kerry stand in front of the American people and lie so blatantly? Straight from his mouth, he HAS accused Bush of lying to the American people, but yet in the debate he tried to come across as an angel, saying he has never used those harsh words. I think the only thing that came out of that debate is the fact that Kerry is a professional debater. We all knew that before the debate. Now, if you want to vote in a Commander in Chief based on his debating skills (read BS skills) then that's your right, but I think you're on the right track in questioning his flip-flopping. I also recommend questioning why Kerry has only voted 25% of the time during his 20 year career as a Senator. Was he too busy wind-surfing the other 75%? Anyway, I enjoy educated dialogue, unlike Sebastian from Germany, so anytime you want to chat, let me know.