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#62
11-04-2004, 01:14 PM
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 You may not mean to, but your posts come off like "how date anyone disrespect an opposite opinion." If you did not mean it that way then sorry for the confusion.
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 save the cheerleader - save the world |
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#63
11-04-2004, 01:18 PM
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I thought this article interesting in that it was in the editorial section of the WSJ which has been so pro-Bush.
______________________________________________________________ November 4, 2004 POLITICS & PEOPLE By ALBERT R. HUNT An Impressive Victory; No Mandate November 4, 2004; Page A15 George W. Bush loses few opportunities to claim Ronald Reagan as his model of presidential leadership; if he means it, he'll be a much less divisive leader in the second term. Mr. Bush is appropriately exultant after winning an intense victory Tuesday; he's entitled to gloat over those of us who doubted he'd win or deserved to win. But, unlike us, he faces the responsibility of governance. That should temper the euphoria. It was a GOP sweep, but it also was the narrowest win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Moreover, the history of second term presidents is sobering; many either overreach or become early lame ducks. Ronald Reagan was an exception of sorts as he focused more on legacy than ideology. Although with his landslide win 1984 he could have claimed a mandate for more of the same, he didn't. He moved to the center on both domestic issues -- the landmark 1986 tax bill was a genuinely bipartisan effort -- and on foreign affairs, particularly in his dealings with the Soviet Union and Mikhail Gorbachev. That second-term pragmatism is best detailed in Lou Cannon's superb biography of the Reagan presidency. A re-election offers any president a new tableau. "Decision making no longer has to be made through the prism of re-election," notes Margaret Tutwiler, a top aide to Jim Baker in the Reagan administration. But she also warns: "In very short order, people start focusing on the next election. It's important to set your (legislative) priorities and move quickly." Whatever President Bush's plans, the reality of Iraq will begin to loom large. Most experts are skeptical the scheduled January elections there can be pulled off successfully. Reports suggest that violence is on the uptick. One decision that will have to be made soon is whether to escalate America's involvement in Iraq, by sending in more troops, with the hopes that a more massive display of force will quell most of the insurgency. Ironically, sources say, that's an option that Sen. Kerry, if elected, would have seriously considered. But it's full of peril, threatening to worsen a quagmire that could dominate the critical next year for George W. Bush. Whatever he decides -- and some sources close to the administration expect the opposite, a steady pullout starting soon next year -- the president would be well-advised to reach out to critics on Capitol Hill, including Democrats like Sen. Joe Biden, but also Republicans like Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar. Some semblance of bipartisan national security is important too, as other hot spots -- North Korea and Iran -- take front-burner. Confronting Iran, which is intent on developing a nuclear capacity, may be unavoidable, but any military action, on top of Iraq, would set the tone for an entire second term. Personnel will affect these policies. Most Bush advisers won't be upset if Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld leaves soon. But there is no natural candidate to succeed him. One possibility: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who wouldn't be identified as much with post-Iraq invasion debacles. And most of Colin Powell's friends doubt that he will stay as secretary of state, having been embarrassed and deprecated so often by the White House. The leading replacement candidates: United Nations Ambassador John Danforth or Ms. Rice. The president also needs to find, or promote, a few more innovative and forceful top guns in economic and domestic policy. In the campaign, President Bush talked about a second-term drive for Social Security reform (a partial privatization), tax reform (a sharp reduction in the role of the progressive income tax) and more tax cuts. It will be impossible to achieve all three -- politically or fiscally -- over the next two years. The White House will have to settle on its priority; if American history is any guide, no sweeping reform is possible without bipartisan support. Tax cuts are politically easy, and Democrats, given today's political realities, have no chance of rescinding the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. But the fiscal outlook, with the baby-boomer retirements on the horizon, could haunt a second Bush term. Mr. Bush owes a great deal to the cultural conservatives who turned out in huge numbers for him Tuesday. One sure payoff: the three or four Supreme Court justices he's likely to nominate in a second term. Most of those will produce unavoidably fractious fights. But on many of the other hot-button social issues, Mr. Bush could look to his presidential role model, Ronald Reagan, who always sided with the social right but rarely made their issues a priority. The bottom line, as veteran Republican and Washington hand, Vin Weber, notes, is not to realistically expect more than "selective" cooperation. "There can be a bipartisan majority (on specific issues) but not a bipartisan consensus," he says. Perhaps instead Mr. Bush will see Tuesday as a huge mandate and see the opposition as dejected and dwindling. Conversations yesterday suggested despondency among Democrats unequaled in contemporary times. This seems true of much of the rank and file as well as political elites. At least judging by the e-mails in my inbox at 8:30 yesterday morning, even before Sen. Kerry had conceded. An articulate Seattle, Washington man wrote that he was "absolutely devastated" by this election as never before and genuinely feared the country "will explode." As the president celebrates an impressive across-the-board victory, caveats notwithstanding, those fears shouldn't be ignored. George W. Bush has been a successful divider; can he now seriously move to be more of a uniter? URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1...964519,00.html Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) mailto:[email protected]
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save the cheerleader - save the world |
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#64
11-04-2004, 01:20 PM
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 Hillary |
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#65
11-04-2004, 01:46 PM
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Geez...now I'm a liberal - up until now i was a registered Democrat (I'm not an independent...)
I alwasy though being liberal came with an open mind - which I try to have. Nancy, I respect your views and I respec the conviction of those who have it - the same way I don't like when people shove their views down my throat - I don't like it when it's done here. Some here say the Republican Party is hateful and evil - you're showing a real hypocrisy here when YOU are not showing any open-mindedness.... Also - I haven't noticed any religious fanatics on this board and I've not noticed anyone trying to shove their religious beliefs down anyone's throat - so why all the hostility and snide remarks when it comes to anything religious? You're stooping down to the level of the people you hate when you justify it by saying, "That's how they act..." "they hate me..." Rise above it - rather than complaining or trying to tear others down work for change - volunteer your time to a worthy cause...I don't know... There IS a lot of hostility on this board and though I strongly dislike Bush some on here were making me want to vote for him just to spite them....I didn't because again - I try to rise above and just know that I live by my own convictions and they are right for me.... I have two good friends who voted for Bush - they had reasons which we discussed and I rescpect that they had reasons other than, "he's religious" There ARE people who like the man - and I really don't think the country is going to implode while he's in office - if it does then so help me I'll go down laughing at myself for being idealistic - But hey we got him for another four years...I intend to work for change on a local level - rather than sulk and complain about the fact that he was re-elected...life goes on......life goes on |
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#66
11-04-2004, 02:12 PM
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Ditto...
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 I once was a loyal right wing Republican in my late teens who supported everything the Reagan/Bush (1st) admins. stood for  But something happened during my early to late 20's which screwed my vision of what they stood for and who they stood against (Maybe marriage...maybe the hardships of life, Who knows but it did change me forever more)...I started to think for myself and no longer follow what the political party was shoving into my mind as being their ALMIGHTY GOD FEARING LAW. How is America supposed to become a country that offers freedoms for ALL CITIZENS then in the same breath do exactly the opposite of that and oppress some of the same citizens??? That BS pushed me to the center (An Independent) and made me more questioning of what the hell exactly those in Washington were trying to do to this country and why instead of bringing ALL OF US together why they CONTINUALLY divide US up into individual warring factions? Is this because they know that if we EVER join together nothing can stop us and they will lose our favortism towards them??? I remember watching the movie "And The Band Played On" and it f**cked me up so much that instead of being the homo-phobe I was (Like others in my family still are) it made me realize I am a hypocrite for denying others their civil rights in this country while I was allowed rights...Thus changing me forever more into a more open minded person instead of a close minded shallow sack of ****. Sad but true, But I was once considered the enemy of many of the same people who post here because of the way I was raised (ie-Brainwashed into not forming my OWN opinions & beliefs)...But I FINALLY arose above their limited ways of thinking and see the world for what it truly is. Brian j.
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"To acknowledge death is to accept freedom and responsibility." |
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#67
11-04-2004, 02:20 PM
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- Nancy 
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#68
11-04-2004, 02:21 PM
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BUT then my uncle was "born-again" and man - he's wacked....it's hard to talk to him sometimes...as he's part of the dreaded religious right....( a group that does frighten me...) It gives me hope to know that there are people in the world like yourself you can be um...for lack of a better term "enlightened" haha....I wish more people would open their minds and come to the realizations you did.... |
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#69
11-04-2004, 02:21 PM
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Deanna, thank you very much. I appreciate your words and respect you a lot for them. I feel like people on this board view me as an evil heartless bitch because I voted for Bush...same for all others on this board who have voted for him as well. Yes, we have been lambasted for our opinion but again, it's MY opinion. I'm not asking for someone elses acceptance of it. I'm voicing it the same way that the dominating voice of this board gets to voice theirs. If you want to view me as said evil heartless bitch, do it for a better reason please...like i've killed your cat or run over your prized-winning flowers in your garden with my Buick. This world would be a better place if we all accepted each other regardless of our difference in opinion on certain subjects. Like I said, everyone has varying circumstances in life and things that are important to them. We voted Tuesday and voiced our opinions. Had Kerry won, I would have to accept it and move on. Bush won and despite the sting a lot of you are feeling, we're all going to have to collectively do the same.
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#70
11-04-2004, 02:22 PM
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Amen Nancy - as usual, I could not have said it better myself  To paraphrase a friend of mine "I never heard Jesus say the word gay"
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save the cheerleader - save the world |
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#71
11-04-2004, 02:23 PM
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__________________
- Nancy
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#72
11-04-2004, 02:24 PM
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 wow - I never knew you were a Bush supporter...interesting But yeah - I said what I meant - I may not agree with the man - but hey some do - and I don't feel as though your of anyone elses opinions are any less valid than my own.... In fact, I strive to always listen to and understand both sides of things - probably because of my job - |
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#73
11-04-2004, 02:26 PM
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 hahaha - at least I was...now when I register in New York I'll be an independent - but that's mostly because of my job |
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#74
11-04-2004, 02:26 PM
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Quote:
__________________
- Nancy
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#75
11-04-2004, 02:27 PM
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 Seriously, I cannot see how anyone could vote for W because every reason anyone has ever given me is not supported by the facts. But, gut instinct is something and I think alot of people went with that. plus, although I voted for him and wish he would have won, Kerry was no bed of roses and apparently about half of the country felt that way But, fact are facts and W is here for four more years. So, I have to "take on the situation but not the torment" - although venting here has helped!!!!!!
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save the cheerleader - save the world |
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