As Karen Carpenter Once Sang, "Where Do I Begin.......?"

[own_the_room]

To Slickgothgurl, I believe that God paved the way for every President we've ever had....even Bill Clinton. Read the writings of our forefathers, the ones that established this country, they mention God regularly. The House and Senate open with prayer, as (I believe) does the Supreme Court. If Kerry is elected, he'll place his hand on a Bible to

Comments

[simmeringbrain]

that's true, clinton did sign nafta, and it certainly contributed to a decrease in jobs in america (of course, this was during the best economy in US history, but that's a whole other matter).
regardless, i wasnt really talking about the jobs that were outsourced in north america (you know, north american free trade agreement and all)...i was talking about the ones that were outsourced overseas...as are both of the candidates (you might have noticed them constantly mentioning the word "overseas" in their respective campaigns). because those are the ones that really effected the US economy. those are the ones that took MILLIONS of jobs out of the US. and those MILLIONS disappeared under george...not bill (nor because of bill). im not saying i agree with nafta, but, realistically, if youre going to address the outsourcing of jobs, please address the ones that actually had a substantial negative effect on the economy...

as for sept 11. youre absolutely right. we were attacked. and it's true that the economy would've tanked no matter who was president. but how do you explain that it already started to tank pre-9/11 under bush's reign? again, if you dont believe me, you can check it out on census.gov.

i mean, i completely understand that if something as atrocious as 9/11 occurs, it will effect the economy afterwards. but it seems very far-fetched to think that 9/11 effected the economy prior to the actual attack, doesnt it? and, more importantly, did it really have to become the *worst* economy since the great depression? i mean, we've had several other wars since then (the US being a decidedly bellicose nation and all)...how come they didnt negatively effect the economy to such an extent?

so as far as im concerned, no matter how you slice it, bush, to put it bluntly, has somehow managed to put the US in the shitter. granted, it wasnt *entirely* his fault. but, in his *brilliant* manner, he also managed to ostracize most first world countries the world over (and that is his fault). consequently, bush holds little credibility in the international market. this wouldnt be so bad if the US economy didnt have such a profound influence on the world's economy. but it does (and vice-versa...although most americans would be hard-pressed to admit it). and consequently, people the world over are wincing at the thought that bush might be re-elected.

so much so, in fact, that this is quite possibly the most watched election in the history of the world. when else have 14,000 brits banded together to send emails to americans explaining why they actively oppose a particular american candidate? when else have over 3 (yes, 3) films come out opposing a particular candidate? when else have several world leaders from first world countries actively denounced an american president (eg france, germany, austria, japan, china - yes, i know china is not a 1st world country, but it is a *substantial* superpower in the world market at the moment)?

never. absolutely never.

so, you can say whatever you want about ex-presidents, be them democrats or republicans, and you can love george bush like a farmer loves his lamb...but NEVER has the world scrutinized an american election as much as this one.

ok, that being said, i want to put this clearly. im not voting for kerry because i think he's the most brilliant candidate ive ever met. nor am i necessarily inspired by his often lackluster speeches. realistically, im voting for him because i think he might be able to reestablish US credibility in the international market and potentially help rebuild the US economy. two things of which, i am quite convinced, george is incapable. not because george doesnt know how (im sure his cabinet is chock full of competent and educated people who could tell him what to do) but because he's screwed up *so* much these last 4 years that he's lost all credibility.

ok, i think that's enough for now, i didnt really address terrorism because this is already long-winded enough as it is.

best of luck nov. 2.

Wow!

[own_the_room]

Finally, a liberal viewpoint that doesn't make me defensive about being a conservative Christian!

Thank you!

(It doesn't change my mind but at least you make a case without snide and condescending remarks).

You make good points...I won't address them all but I'm for Bush for a lot of reasons. One of the main ones is that he's literally taken on the rest of the world.

We were attacked....and by damnit, somebody's going to pay. If it be France, Germany or Russia(doing business with Saddam) or China (doing business with Iran), then so be it. It may take a few years to settle this down....that's OK. At least the rest of the world knows that Bush/conservatives won't back down.

One of my favorite movie scenes is from a John Wayne flick where a bar fight ensues, and "The Duke" grabs a guy, rares back his fist and the guy says, "But I didn't DO anything!" to which Wayne's character says, "Well, ya shoulda...!" and decks him...

That's the way the rest of the world should feel when we're attacked. There's not ONE COUNTRY that we haven't helped through either fighting their war for them (France, Britain, China, South Korea, South Viet Nam, Norway, Sweden, just to name a few) or through financial aid (not enough space to list EVERY country here) or through humanitarian aid (ditto).

We send missionaries, Red Cross, Peace Corps...hell, we even send Mormons....and what help do we get when attacked?

Very little.

Be glad I'm not President...I'd drop some remote controlled nukes at evey Islamic religious site and tell the world that if one more soldier is shot, one more hostage taken or beheaded, we obliterate Mecca...then the next important and so on.....maybe then the rest of the Islamic world will take control of their own.

I don't hate them...I wish that they'd reach some sort of compromise so that the religions of the world could do what we're supposed to do....worship God, Allah, or whoever their Deity is and live in peace.

Then Bush or Kerry or Joe Blow can be President and get on with our lives.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. If slickgothgurl would talk rationally and calmly instead of ranting about my wanting to oppress her, she might find that I'm not that bad a guy....at least I'd give her the opportunity to have a calm discussion about her feelings.