Paramount Theatre
Forever
RECEIVED Fri., Feb. 4, 2005
Dear Editor,
Based upon ambiguous exit polling, the popular wisdom is that Democrats lost the 2004 presidential election because President Bush was strong on “moral values.” Although that response was given by only 22% of those polled, the pundits immediately declared that John Kerry had been found unworthy of the voters' trust because he lacked the same moral fiber that President Bush exhibited.
Democrats did not lose the presidential election due to a lack of “moral values.” Nor did George W. Bush win the election because he is a born-again Christian with “strong moral values.” George W. Bush was re-elected because he was president on September 11, 2001. In practical effect, President Bush owes his re-election to Osama bin Laden.
Although President Bush apparently believes that his re-election is proof that the American voter approves of his policies, including his ill-conceived war in Iraq, American history teaches that the re-election of presidents during wartime is the norm and not the exception. Abraham Lincoln is the best example of a president who was re-elected because the voters chose not to “change horses in the middle of a stream” during the Civil War. More recent examples are Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Since presidents undoubtedly feel more important and have greater political appeal when they put on their uniform as commander in chief, it is no surprise that Republican strategists quickly declared a war on terror while the debris from the World Trade Center was still smoking.
The question is, how long will George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans remain in uniform?
President Bush has given us the answer in his second inaugural address: until the final battle between the forces of good and evil is won; until the last terrorist is killed and the last tyrant is overthrown.
Forever is a long time.
Based upon ambiguous exit polling, the popular wisdom is that Democrats lost the 2004 presidential election because President Bush was strong on “moral values.” Although that response was given by only 22% of those polled, the pundits immediately declared that John Kerry had been found unworthy of the voters' trust because he lacked the same moral fiber that President Bush exhibited.
Democrats did not lose the presidential election due to a lack of “moral values.” Nor did George W. Bush win the election because he is a born-again Christian with “strong moral values.” George W. Bush was re-elected because he was president on September 11, 2001. In practical effect, President Bush owes his re-election to Osama bin Laden.
Although President Bush apparently believes that his re-election is proof that the American voter approves of his policies, including his ill-conceived war in Iraq, American history teaches that the re-election of presidents during wartime is the norm and not the exception. Abraham Lincoln is the best example of a president who was re-elected because the voters chose not to “change horses in the middle of a stream” during the Civil War. More recent examples are Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Since presidents undoubtedly feel more important and have greater political appeal when they put on their uniform as commander in chief, it is no surprise that Republican strategists quickly declared a war on terror while the debris from the World Trade Center was still smoking.
The question is, how long will George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans remain in uniform?
President Bush has given us the answer in his second inaugural address: until the final battle between the forces of good and evil is won; until the last terrorist is killed and the last tyrant is overthrown.
Forever is a long time.
Lou McCreary
