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Down The Middle - Jul 21, 2004 - Printable Version
- It's John John
by Down the Middle
President George W. Bush's service records, covering the three month period in 1972 and 1973 with the Air National Guard in Alabama, have been reported "accidentally destroyed". Whut luck! Unfortunately for W., that was about the only luck he's been having lately. Two data storage devices containing classified information were said to be missing from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. {Yes, again.} Ken Lay, the infamous C.E.O. of Enron {Bush's largest contributor} and Bush's personal friend, was led away in handcuffs.
Pakistani intelligence officers are claiming that high ranking members of the Bush Administration are now putting pressure on their government to catch or kill bin Laden and other "high value targets" before the election, preferably at the beginning of the Democratic Convention and rumors are flying that V. P. Cheney will withdraw from the race because of "health" reasons, in a last ditch effort to save the election. Now, word is beginning to leak out about Iran's complicity in 9/11 and the question quickly arises about why we hit Iraq and gave Iran a pass.
If all that wasn't enough to screw up the 'ole line dancing down at the ranch, John Kerry went and picked John Edwards as his number two. Talk about a fly in the barbecue!
The newly announced choice of John Edwards for the V.P. spot on the Democratic ticket struck such fear into the heart of the Administration, they had to immediately counter with a "terrorist alert", while admitting they actually had no specific information and were not planning to raise the level of the terror threat. (I knew from the beginning, we were in trouble when they didn't get the colors on the threat chart in the proper order. Blue should be the lowest level, not green). Then, Tom Ridge, our head of Homeland Security, requests that John Ashcroft (He's the guy who actually lost his election in Missouri to a dead man, before Bush made him "top cop" of the nation) to investigate the possibilities of "postponing" the election, in case of a terrorist attack.
When confronted with the question of postponing the election during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said "that would be a victory for the South". He knew, you can't give up the democracy to save the democracy. (Did you know General Tommy Franks has said, "If we get hit again, where we suffered thousands of casualties, the Constitution would be thrown out in favor of a "military style" government.) This is beginning to sound strangely historical. Is the name Bonaparte beginning to ring a bell for anyone?
Up until now, like much of the nation, I've been luke warm on Kerry but like much of the nation, my faith was somewhat reborn with his selection of Edwards. His charm, good looks and oratory elegance would bring the campaign the badly needed charisma and, just as important, Edwards would bring with him many centrist voters from all parties. In a close election, it will be the moderates who will carry the day.
Senator Kerry, accompanied by his wife, Theresa, gave an outstanding, straight forward interview on Larry King Live. For the first time, I was truly impressed with Kerry as I heard him go from the Administration‚s bungling of the capture of bin Laden at Tora Bora (Read my column of May 31, 2004, "Wanted Dead or Alive.") http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/DownTheMiddle/1001.html to national health care to the misguided invasion of Iraq. {Read my column of June 17, 2004, "Shock and Awe or Shuck and Jibe?"} http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/DownTheMiddle/1002.html
Those who say "Kerry doesn't stand for anything" obviously aren't listening. He was very direct in his remarks and, for the first time, he was quick spoken (Kerry always had something to say, he just bored everyone with his slow delivery.) and those who say he flip-flops are listening no closer than the Bush commercials which are "half truths". Do they really expect us to believe he voted against the Laci Peterson Bill because he wishes violence on pregnant women? Most of these "No" votes occur because the bill itself is flawed, or there have been attachments (usually pork) which he cannot, in good conscious, abide.
Those who have already closed their ears to Kerry may find themselves listening to John Edwards. He and his wife, Elizabeth also appeared on Larry King a week after the Kerry's and they were great! Instead of personally attacking Bush and Cheney, {like the Administration does Kerry and Edwards} the Senator from North Carolina speaks of his vision of a greater America where we don't give away our freedoms under the guise of protecting them and where people don't have to be wealthy to have health care. Personally, I was hoping to hear him ask Vice President Chaney why we paid Haliburton $45.00 for each case of Coca-cola they supplied to our military forces in Iraq, and what about that laundry bill - $100.00 for fifteen pounds. {Are they having to take it down to the river and beat it on a rock?} Let's also not forget how they bought gasoline from Kuwait for over $2.50 a gallon and resold it in Iraq for a dime, with the good 'ole American taxpayer making up the difference. Hell, I'm beginning to think it must be Haliburton who's blowing up all the pipelines, just so we'll keep writing those checks! (Just kidding. I think} And just in case you
didn‚t know, Haliburton's corporate address isn't in Oklahoma. They moved off shore to the Caymens, years ago, to beat us out of their fair share of taxes.
But wait a minute! The Bush Administration still has a few cards to play against Edwards. They immediately shouted, "Trial Lawyer! Trial Lawyer!" to scare off Big Business and frighten the peasants. Trouble was, a poll taken soon after the announcement of Edwards showed 68% of the people actually liked the idea of him being a trial lawyer. Looks to me, as if people are a bit fed up with the big corporations, too...and why shouldn't they be? Many of these corporations are giving away their countrymen's jobs to cheaper labor in other countries.
Some in the media tried to help Bush. I actually heard a CNN anchor woman suggest, "Mrs. Edwards didn't look like a First Lady". I just sat there in disbelief, for a moment and then my mouth exploded with something like, "You sorry, stupid, plastic, pom pom cheerleading, egg sucking, ass kissing sorority bitc...". Well, you get the picture. I was rather upset.
At first, I really couldn't believe anyone could say something like that and then I realized, sure, why not? These cruel remarks have become the heart and soul of the "Far Right" debate while talking bad about the elitist left. After all, what else can they say, with the lagging economy and the mess in Iraq. They have to attack in this manner because they have no realistic defense in the debate over the real issues...but this wasn't Michael Moore. Michael knows, when he goes for the throat, they're going to come back with "Michael Moore is fat." {Maybe, Michael should try the Rush Limbaugh Oxycontin Diet. It really seems to work!}...but this wasn't Michael Moore. This was Elizabeth Edwards, a woman who possesses a law degree like her husband, but gave up a lucrative career, after the loss of a child to an accident, to focus on her family. When many would have lost faith and given up, she and her husband rebounded with the birth of two more children {while in her late forties!!!} and now, she is being thrust onto the national stage and seemingly handling it without a hitch! Yeah, cupie doll anchor woman. You're right. I guess Mrs. Edwards is a little fat to be a first lady. If only she could look like you, she would make the grade.
Do let me tell you, I think John Edwards could turn out to be just what this nation needs...a moderate voice that cares about "We, the People" more than the "self interest" and the "special interest" normally demonstrated by both extremes. (Did you know George Washington was against political parties, altogether. He believed the parties would fall under the influence of the "special interest", therefore negating the true will of the people.) Imagine that!
By this time, I'm sure, all of our readers from the far right have declared me to be some crazy, leftist, pinko Al Qaeda type who hates Mom and freedom. Quite the contrary.
I confess, I actually thought that W. really might be a compassionate, moderate conservative. I did think he was just as dumb as Gore was dorky so I voted for the lesser of the two evils {even after seeing Gore dance}...but then, Bush "won" the election and, as soon as he sat down in the Oval Office and with the help of a Republican majority in Congress, immediately started giving away thirty years of environmental improvements to the "fat cats". Then he gave the great tax breaks to the rich, citing the old Republican "trickle down" policy {Archive Bunker called it the "tinkle down" policy}, more appropriately, I'd say. He gave just enough of a break for the middle class to get them to come along and, as usual, the lower class ended up paying a greater percentage than the rich. That's right! The fruit pickers pay a greater percentage of their income to our government than the President. Do our politicians still call what they do a "service to our country?" I think those fruit pickers have been serviced enough.
Speaking of "pissing down my back and telling me it's raining", our government has now seen fit to change the number of our boys and girls killed in Iraq to those actually blown away by enemy fire. (The media had begun talking of the "magic number" of American dead which would be tolerated by the people more than two months ago and seemingly settled on 1,000.) Apparently the Administration agreed. As soon as the number of killed actually hit 1,000, they suddenly changed the rules to reflect about 150 less killed than before. So, if you lost friend or family over there, I guess they just died in a common accident, like so many other "tourists" on vacation. Neither of these formulas include our mercenaries (oops, I meant "defense contractors"}, and we've lost over 200 of them.
Why should I be surprised the Administration ain't tellin' me the truth? This Administration began it's first presidential campaign with lies and has been "hosing" us every since. I gave them a chance to be "compassionate" but they abandoned the elderly and cut a deal with the pharmaceutical companies. I gave them a chance to create jobs for the poor but they created the "poorest" of jobs. I gave them a chance to defend our country and they've mismanaged the War on Terror to the point where it will be extremely hard, if not impossible, to recover from the gross miscalculations that has us stuck in a country we cannot seem to control. They said this would be nothing like Viet Nam but look what's happening. Almost every day we lose more people.
So, don't call me a "leftist" or "unpatriotic". I'm an independent, patriotic American, hoping and praying, we still may have a chance to save our country.
I'm not telling you John Kerry and John Edwards are the absolute road to our salvation but I am telling you Bush and Cheney have failed us. Call it the lesser of two evils, if it makes you feel any better, but please realize, we are in serious trouble and at this point, our only hope may be John Kerry, with his Abraham Lincoln stature and John Edwards, with his Bobby Kennedy haircut.
As I walk down the Middle of this year's political decision, I have little choice but to veer to the Left.
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