CAMPAIGN 2004
The place to look back and reflect on the November election.
Results by county 2004 Presidential election - posted 11/4/04
26 out of the 28 poorest states in the country went for President Bush. The poor want to become prosperous! 97 of the fastest 100 growing counties went for President Bush. Republicans represent the party of the 'rich'?
For information about Senate races click here. (Analysis of Candidates by the Club For Growth)
Update of the top three Senate races that donations can make a difference here.
Articles
The following articles offer some good perspective on the Presidential race.
Thinking
aloud: no beating around the Bush
A Pakistani writes an interesting piece on Bush from a unique perspective. Contrasts well with the Openly
Religious to a Point article immediately below this one in discussing religion in American
politics.
Openly
Religious, to a Point
Despite the fear of some that Bush is a 'dangerous religious ideologue' who might blur the
separation between church and state, a Washington Post investigation is unable to nail down where he
stands on most religious issues!
Let Jackson take Lesson from King - Enquirer columnist offers his opinion on Jesse Jackson trying to play Ohio in 2008 like the Democrats played Florida in 2004. President Bush won Ohio by around 140,000 votes. Like he did in Florida, Jesse is again charging disenfranchisement, fraud, conspiracy, and, of course, racism.
Bush
Tax Cuts too small says economist
Asia Times picks up a story that receives no coverage here in the US. The 2004 Economics Nobel prize
winner, an American, says Bush's tax cuts are too small.
Black
Gay Republicans Break with Log Cabin Republicans, Endorse Bush
Yahoo reports. Hmmmmmm... Hey, every vote counts...
The Osama Litmus
Test
A BBC report on Arabic Media
offers possible insight into the thinking of Osama Bin Laden. 3 of 4 Arabic media outlets examined
believe that the tape will doom Bush's reelection. Don't believe it, but it's interesting they
think so.
Press
Split over Bin Laden Tape
New York Times David Brooks puts out a great piece on Osama Bin Laden inserting himself into our
Presidential race. Full (and
now accurate) Transcript of Tape
Kerry's
Afghan Amnesia
Washington Post's Charles
Krauthammer writes another great piece that offers insights into the political rhetoric of the Kerry
camp.
An
Edwards Outrage
A column by Charles Krauthammer slamming Edwards for saying: "If we do the work that we can do
in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher
Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."
John Kerry's Foreign Policy
From our own neoperspectives.com, an in-depth look at Kerry's foreign policy.
Letter to the President
of the AFL-CIO
Ed Gillespe, head of the National Republican Party writes an open letter to Union head John Sweeny.
Note: this is included because it gives a good summary of the events taking place across the
country. I realize that Gillespe is being disingenuous by grouping all of these disruptions together
in this letter. Most of these had nothing to do with the AFL-CIO.
Mr.
Kerry and Iraq
The Washington Post Editorial board is confused by Kerry's Iraq stance. It will endorse him
anyway... (Update 10/23/04 - I was right)
Telling
it like it is
Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller rebuts critics of his convention speech.
Some
of Kerry's biggest fans are in the press
Los Angeles Times - Jeff
Jacboy writes an opinion piece detailing how media bias will effect the campaign. Notice the
statements the various 'media figures' made after Kerry's convention and what is now the
conventional wisdom.
Parties
to Injustice
Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader describes Democratic obstructions.
SEIU
Chief Says The Democrats Lack Fresh Ideas
In an interview with the Washington Post, the head of the 1.6 million member (SEIU) Union says a
second Bush term would bring about needed reforms within the labor movement.
Socialists
Join Communists in Backing Kerry
It's not a joke! Newsmax reports the small American Socialist and American Communist party
officially endorse Senator Kerry for President of the United States.
Kerry's
New Vietnam Fix
L.A. Daily News - How come no one asks the 1.2 million Vietnamese-Americans what they think of
Kerry? It might surprise you.
Some
Veterans Still bitter at talk of Crimes
This Washington Post article covers the bitter resentment many Vietnam Veterans felt when Sen. Kerry returned
from combat and testified before the Senate. To hear some of Kerry's testimony (which is not, despite what you might read,
taken out of context) click here. My
uncle, who received a Purple Heart, Silver Star for Valor, a Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying
Cross, is among those who resents being portrayed as a war criminal. Kerry
recently attacked Vice President Cheney for getting academic deferments. So it appears Senator Kerry
is (indirectly) insinuating you were either a war criminal or a coward if you were in the Vietnam generation.
Dem
De La Creme
Opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal asks which party really represents the middle class.
Fattest
Cat
ABC news reports that the Democrat's biggest money man has mob connections. Eccentric rich heir
flashes money all over, but what for and why bail out a murderer?
Edwards
Brings Lawyer Support
The Washington Post reports that Vice Presidential Candidate John Edward's trail lawyer buddies are
bringing millions into the race. Say goodbye to tort reform!
Moderate
Myth
Conservative Radio host Rush Limbaugh writes in the Wall Street Journal that the speakers at the
Republican Convention proudly displayed their Conservatism, not their 'moderatism' - that the TV
pundits love to talk about. He's right!
DEBATES
The following links are my brief reactions and comments on the debates.
Speeches
Georgia
Senator Zell Miller March 24th, 2004 text
Georgia Democratic Senator speaks at the Democrats for Bush rollout (which he chairs). The specific
differences and policies he discusses in this speech are some of the best illustration of the
differences between the two candidates I have found. It is not as partisan as his convention speech.
Convention Speeches
Here are the prime speeches from the recent Republican convention. I didn't include any from the Democratic Convention because they didn't talk about much besides Vietnam and weren't exciting (well, except maybe Sharpton's). Sorry for not being 'fair and balanced'. I didn't include any excerpts from New York Mayor Rudy Guliani (good, but seemed like a politicians speech), or New York Governor Pataki (bad speaker) or Sec of Edu Ron Paige (a bit disappointed in him).
If you haven't seen it, you need to watch the video of Georgia (D) Senator Zell Miller's speech and the Governator's [(R)nold] speech. It's not necessary to watch the President or McCain speech, but it is good to read them, especially the President's. I'll post what I thought were the highlights after each speech.
Georgia
(D) Senator Zell Miller Video
Gerogia (D) Senator Zell
Miller Text
Hurricane Zell brought down the house! He was the 1992 Keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention that nominated Bill Clinton. The media were in shock after this speech! lol! You really need to see the video to get the full effect. In my opinion, this speech was by far the highlight of the convention.
--
The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party.
--
In 1940 Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee. And there is no better example of
someone repealing their "private plans" than this good man. He gave Roosevelt the critical
support he needed for a peacetime draft, an unpopular idea at the time. And he made it clear that he
would rather lose the election than make national security a partisan campaign issue. Shortly before
Wilkie died he told a friend, that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between
"here lies a president" or "here lies one who contributed to saving freedom", he
would prefer the latter.
Where are such statesmen today? Where is the bi-partisanship in this country when we need it most?
Now, while young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our
nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrat's manic obsession to bring down
our Commander-in-Chief.
What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?
---
Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and
Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter. But not today.
Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see
America as an occupier, not a liberator. And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling
American troops occupiers rather than liberators!
Tell that to the one-half of Europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of
liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because
Dwight Eisenhower commanded an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the half a billion
men, women and children who are free today from the Baltics to the Crimea, from Poland to Siberia,
because Ronald Reagan rebuilt a military of liberators, not occupiers.
Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of
total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they
preserve it for us here at home.
No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country
if he doesn't believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of
freedom at home. But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their
warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution. They don't believe there is any
real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and
misguided foreign policy.
It is not their patriotism - it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking. They claimed
Carter's pacifism would lead to peace. They were wrong. They claimed Reagan's defense buildup would
lead to war. They were wrong.
And, no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two Senators from Massachusetts,
Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. Together, Kennedy/Kerry have opposed the very weapons system that won
the Cold War and that is now winning the War on Terror. Listing all the weapon systems that Senator
Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but
Americans need to know the facts.
(lists them all)
This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?
---
Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United
Nations. Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide. John
Kerry, who says he doesn't like outsourcing, wants to outsource our national security. That's the
most dangerous outsourcing of all. This politician wants to be leader of the free world. Free for
how long?
For more than twenty years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has
been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure. As a war protestor, Kerry
blamed our military. As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more
sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harms way,
far-away.
---
George Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a
better grip. From John Kerry, they get a "yes-no-maybe" bowl of mush that can only
encourage our enemies and confuse our friends.
I first got to know George Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man. I am moved
by the respect he shows the First Lady, his unabashed love for his parents and his daughters, and
the fact that he is unashamed of his belief that God is not indifferent to America. I can identify
with someone who has lived that line in "Amazing Grace," "Was blind, but now I
see," and I like the fact that he's the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday
morning. He is not a slick talker but he is a straight shooter and, where I come from, deeds mean a
lot more than words. I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a
God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel. The man I trust to protect my most
precious possession: my family.
This election will change forever the course of history, and that's not any history. It's our
family's history. In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this
Democrat is proud to stand up with him.
---
California
Governor (R)nold Schwarzenegger Text
California
Governor (R)nold Schwarzenegger Video
(R)nold brought the crowd to their feet on almost every sentence. He gave an uplifting description of what this country is really about. Spine tingling patriotism through and through. He mentions Nixon, which shows he is speaking from his heart, not reading a poll driven script. Nixon remains an unpopular figure, no one would have guessed his name would be cheered at this convention! He talks about the stagnation of his native Austria. Indeed, people have been fleeing communist and socialist countries ever since they were founded. Let's keep that stuff away from here! It was a great speech.
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Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called "True Lies." It's what the Democrats should have called their convention.
---
As a kid I saw the socialist country that Austria became after the Soviets left. I love Austria and I love the Austrian people - but I always knew America was the place for me.
---
I finally arrived here in 1968.I had empty pockets, but I was full of dreams. The presidential
campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon and Humphrey presidential race on TV. A
friend who spoke German and English, translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded
like socialism which is what I had just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about
free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes, and strengthening the military.
Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air.
I said to my friend, "What party is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I
said, "Then I am a Republican!" And I've been a Republican ever since! And trust me, in my
wife's family, that's no small achievement!
---
My fellow immigrants, my fellow Americans how do you know if you are a Republican?
I'll tell you how.
If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the
government...then you are a Republican! If you believe a person should be treated as an individual,
not as a member of an interest group... then you are a Republican! If you believe your family knows
how to spend your money better than the government does... then you are a Republican! If you believe
our educational system should be held accountable for the progress of our children ... then you are
a Republican! If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope of democracy in
the world ... then you are a Republican! And, ladies and gentlemen ...if you believe we must be
fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism ... then you are a Republican!
There is another way you can tell you're a Republican. You have faith in free enterprise, faith in
the resourcefulness of the American people ...and faith in the U.S. economy. To those critics who
are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men!
The U.S. economy remains the envy of the world. We have the highest economic growth of any of the
world's major industrialized nations. Don't you remember the pessimism of twenty years ago when the
critics said Japan and Germany were overtaking the U.S.? Ridiculous!
Now they say India and China are overtaking us. Don't you believe it! We may hit a few BUMPS -- but
America always moves ahead! That's what Americans do!
We move prosperity ahead. We move freedom ahead. We move people ahead. Under President Bush, and
Vice President Cheney, America's economy is moving ahead in spite of a recession they inherited and
in spite of the attack on our homeland.
Now, the other party says there are two Americas. (this is in reference to Democratic Vice
Presidential contender John Edwards constant class warfare rhetoric) Don't believe that either.
I've visited our troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Bosnia, Germany, and all over the world. I've visited our
troops in California, where they train before they go overseas. And I've visited our military
hospitals. And I can tell you this: Our young men and women in uniform do not believe there are two
Americas!
They believe we are one America and they are fighting for it! We are one America - and President
Bush is defending it with all his heart and soul!
---
The President didn't go into Iraq because the polls told him it was popular. As a matter of fact, the polls said just the opposite. But leadership isn't about polls. It's about making decisions you think are right and then standing behind those decisions. That's why America is safer with George W. Bush as President.
---
Let me tell you about the sacrifice and commitment I've seen firsthand. In one of
the military hospitals I visited, I met a young guy who was in bad shape. He'd lost a leg had a hole
in his stomach ... his shoulder had been shot through.
I could tell there was no way he could ever return to combat. But when I asked him, "When do
you think you'll get out of the hospital?" He said, "Sir, in three weeks." And do you
know what he said to me then? He said he was going to get a new leg ... and get some therapy ... and
then he was going back to Iraq to serve alongside his buddies! He grinned at me and said,
"Arnold ... I'll be back!"
Ladies and gentlemen, America is back! back from the attack on our homeland- back from the attack on
our economy back from the attack on our way of life. We're back because of the perseverance,
character and leadership of the 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush.
My fellow Americans ...I want you to know that I believe with all my heart
that America remains "the
great idea" that inspires the
world. It's a privilege to be born here. It's an honor to become a citizen here. It's a gift
to raise your family here to vote here and to live here.
---
President Bush Video
President
Bush Text
Besides his security/foreign policy layout, I think this will go down in history as the speech that set in motion the final repudiation of the New Deal. A flat tax, social security reform, and health savings accounts would be 'rocket fuel' (to steal the phrase from Club for Growth President Stephan Moore) for the economy and unleash a new era of prosperity for all Americans. My guess is it'll be called the 'Ownership Society Speech'. If these three things come to pass in Bush's second term, and we continue our march in the war on terror, this may be viewed as one of the most famous speeches in all American History.
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I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives.
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I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
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To create more jobs in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. To create jobs, my plan will encourage investment and expansion by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation, and making tax relief permanent.
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This changed world can be a time of great opportunity for all Americans to earn a better living, support your family, and have a rewarding career. And government must take your side. Many of our most fundamental systems the tax code, health coverage, pension plans, worker training were created for the world of yesterday, not tomorrow. We will transform these systems so that all citizens are equipped, prepared and thus truly free to make your own choices and pursue your own dreams.
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Another priority for a new term is to build an ownership society, because ownership brings security, and dignity, and independence.
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To make health care more affordable and accessible, we must pass medical liability reform now. And in all we do to improve health care in America, we will make sure that health decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
---
Senator Kerry opposed Medicare reform and health savings accounts. After supporting
my education reforms, he now wants to dilute them. He opposes legal and medical liability reform. He
opposed reducing the marriage penalty, opposed doubling the child credit, and opposed lowering
income taxes for all who pay them. To be fair, there are some things my opponent is for he's
proposed more than two trillion dollars in new federal spending so far, and that's a lot, even for a
senator from Massachusetts. To pay for that spending, he is running on a platform of increasing
taxes and that's the kind of promise a politician usually keeps. His policies of tax and spend of
expanding government rather than expanding opportunity are the policies of the past. We are on the
path to the future and we are not turning back.
In this world of change, some things do not change: the values we try to live by, the institutions
that give our lives meaning and purpose. Our society rests on a foundation of responsibility and
character and family commitment. Because family and work are sources of stability and dignity, I
support welfare reform that strengthens family and requires work.
---
My opponent recently announced that he is the candidate of "conservative values," which must have come as a surprise to a lot of his supporters. Now, there are some problems with this claim. If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I'm afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you voted against the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed, you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you gave a speech, as my opponent did, calling the Reagan presidency eight years of "moral darkness," then you may be a lot of things, but the candidate of conservative values is not one of them.
---
Again, my opponent and I have different approaches. I proposed, and the Congress
overwhelmingly passed, 87 billion dollars in funding needed by our troops doing battle in
Afghanistan and Iraq. My opponent and his running mate voted against this money for bullets, and
fuel, and vehicles, and body armor. When asked to explain his vote, the Senator said, "I
actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it." Then he said he was
"proud" of that vote. Then, when pressed, he said it was a "complicated" matter.
There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
Our allies also know the historic importance of our work. About 40 nations stand beside us in
Afghanistan, and some 30 in Iraq. And I deeply appreciate the courage and wise counsel of leaders
like Prime Minister Howard, and President Kwasniewski, and Prime Minister Berlusconi and, of course,
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Again, my opponent takes a different approach. In the midst of war, he has called America's allies,
quote, a "coalition of the coerced and the bribed." That would be nations like Great
Britain, Poland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, El Salvador, Australia, and others allies
that deserve the respect of all Americans, not the scorn of a politician. I respect every soldier,
from every country, who serves beside us in the hard work of history. America is grateful, and
America will not forget.
---
We were honored to aid the rise of democracy in Germany and Japan and Nicaragua and Central Europe and the Baltics and that noble story goes on. I believe that America is called to lead the cause of freedom in a new century. I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world.
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In the last four years, you and I have come to know each other. Even when we don't agree, at least you know what I believe and where I stand. You may have noticed I have a few flaws, too. People sometimes have to correct my English I knew I had a problem when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it. Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called "walking." Now and then I come across as a little too blunt and for that we can all thank the white-haired lady sitting right up there.
---
Arizona (R) Senator John McCain text
McCain gave a good solid speech. The crowd roared when he bashed Michael Moore (he gave the 'disingenuous filmmaker' line twice). McCain spent a large portion of this speech on Iraq and gave a good outline of the reasons and history for the war.
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My friends in the Democratic Party and I'm fortunate to call many of them my friends
assure us they share the conviction that winning the war against terrorism is our government's most
important obligation.
I don't doubt their sincerity. They emphasize that military action alone won't protect us, that this
war has many fronts: in courts, financial institutions, in the shadowy world of intelligence, and in
diplomacy.
They stress that America needs the help of her friends to combat an evil that threatens us all, that
our alliances are as important to victory as are our armies. We agree. And, as we've been a good
friend to other countries in moments of shared perils, so we have good reason to expect their
solidarity with us in this struggle. That is what the President believes.
And, thanks to his efforts we have received valuable assistance from many good friends around the
globe, even if we have, at times, been disappointed with the reactions of some. I don't doubt the
sincerity of my Democratic friends. And they should not doubt ours.
---
President Bush made the difficult decision to liberate Iraq. Those who criticize
that decision would have us believe that the choice was between a status quo that was well enough
left alone and war. But there was no status quo to be left alone.
The years of keeping Saddam in a box were coming to a close. The international consensus that he be
kept isolated and unarmed had eroded to the point that many critics of military action had decided
the time had come again to do business with Saddam, despite his near daily attacks on our pilots,
and his refusal, until his last day in power, to allow the unrestricted inspection of his arsenal.
Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a
graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political
opponents.
And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an
oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves
and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls.
Whether or not Saddam possessed the terrible weapons he once had and used, freed from international
pressure and the threat of military action, he would have acquired them again. The central security
concern of our time is to keep such devastating weapons beyond the reach of terrorists who can't be
dissuaded from using them by the threat of mutual destruction. We couldn't afford the risk posed by
an unconstrained Saddam in these dangerous times. By destroying his regime we gave hope to people
long oppressed that if they have the courage to fight for it, they may live in peace and freedom.
Most importantly, our efforts may encourage the people of a region that has never known peace or
freedom or lasting stability that they may someday possess these rights. I believe as strongly today
as ever, the mission was necessary, achievable and noble. For his determination to undertake it, and
for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our
support, but our admiration.
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But an absence of complacency should not provoke an absence of confidence. What our enemies have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. It cannot be taken from us. It can only be surrendered.
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Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight.
We're Americans.
We're Americans, and we'll never surrender.
They will.
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