Young people’s perspective on the President
A couple of days ago I brought up a recent poll here that talked about how young people have been turning to Bush in droves in the last month. Dallas News features a high school sophomore’s opinion piece in which he expresses the reasons he thinks young people support the President:
With that in mind, the question becomes whether George Bush or John Kerry can more capably protect our country. I think George Bush can.
True, the president’s description of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction has not held up. But if you put Iraq aside, his security performance since Sept. 11 has been credible.
President Bush gave our security and intelligence forces sufficient funding. He headed straight into Afghanistan after 9-11. He disrupted the al-Qaeda infrastructure. And he has put terrorist leaders on the run.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, there has not been one major terrorist attack on United States soil. This fact alone testifies to the emphasis the president has put on national security.
Despite some setbacks and embarrassing incidents in postwar Iraq, numerous Americans still trust Mr. Bush to handle the terrorism threat. They know he is not afraid to act on his principles. And they know he will do whatever he believes is right to defend our nation. In the event of another major terrorist strike on America, the country knows it can rely on President Bush to lead us through a time of struggle.
The threat of terrorism simply outweighs all other issues. And he can best address it.
The Democratic convention showed John Kerry is prepared to take on the issue of national security. He put more emphasis on it than any other issue. I like that he would reach out to our allies.
But actions speak louder than words. We’ve all heard that phrase many times. But it could not be more relevant in this election.
Look at Sen. Kerry’s voting record. It reveals a different reality. It is difficult for me to see how a man who voted against nearly every defense bill of the last decade is a champion of our armed forces. From opposing each aircraft carrier proposed since I was born to voting against the M-1 Abram Tank and both B-series bombers, John Kerry has voted to defeat almost every military appropriation for the expansion and deployment of all weapons systems since 1988. It is not easy for me to comprehend how a man would vote to send our troops to war, but then vote against giving them the funding to fight effectively.
My problem is this: John Kerry has been in the United States Senate for nearly two decades. During that time, he has been able to build any voting record he wishes. Sadly for him now, that record has been decisively soft on defense issues and opposed to adequate funding for America’s security.
And here’s another opinion piece written by a sophomore at American University in DC:
People who decide they hate Bush won’t eventually find redeeming qualities in him because he doesn’t change and his beliefs certainly don’t. That’s integrity – the consistency and the strength to continue to uphold a set of values in the face of adversity.
Every voter needs to see the speech Bush made at the Republican convention because it clearly presented his character, values and goals.
The American people may decide in November he isn’t the kind of leader they want or they don’t want to go where his vision would take them, but at least the choice is clear. People know what Bush values and they know he’s going to stick with those values.
That’s integrity and that’s what I want to see in leaders on both ends of the political spectrum.
It is really refreshing to read about the young generation in America taking an interest in politics and the future of this country.