Larry has the best analysis of the debate.
October 1, 2004
Presidential
I didn’t watch the debate. I had no reason to. I, like almost everyone else who will actually cast a ballot November 2, have already decided who I will vote for. And somewhere in Texas, an illegal vote will be cast which negates my legal one.
I won’t waste time surfing today because the talk will all be about the debate. As if the words spoken last night have any real meaning. I think I can see these two men quite clearly through the actions they have taken–their records of accomplishment or non-accomplishment. If we view only the most recent three years, it is quite clear which man puts this country ahead of others, and ahead of his own personal future.
People forget how politically dangerous it was for us to go into Afghanistan. All the talk is of Iraq. Bush did what needed to be done, and his political opponents–ones who now would say doing it was right–predicted doom and gloom. Think of that for a minute and try to remember. Today those same people claim going into Iraq distracted us from doing the work they didn’t want us to do in Afghanistan. They would say Bush took a political gamble and won. I say Bush ignored politics and did what he was supposed to do as President.
The same doom and gloom hung over our involvement in Iraq. Millions would die. Refugees would flood the neighboring countries. There would be a human catastrophe. Didn’t happen. And the problems there now are the result of the doom-and-gloomers trying to turn Iraq into the new Vietnam, because they’ve said it is. They want it to be.
Bush may not have a future in politics after November 2. I don’t think he will lose any sleep over the decisions he has made if he does lose. He has been Presidential. Which is what we hired him to be.
September 29, 2004
Dems say “Jesse is Da Man”
If these numbers are correct, the Democrats–not just John Kerry–are in big trouble. Perhaps folks like La Shawn and Avery are beginning to have an impact that Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell didn’t.
I can only hope so. When Jesse jackson, Al Sharpton, and Kweisi Mfume no longer hold sway, this nation will be completely color-blind.
(Thanks to Alex)
September 28, 2004
Florida recount
Neal Boortz has a piece on the new Democratic initiative to play on people’s emotions, especially that of blacks, regarding the recount in Florida in 2000.
Yes, the political urban legend that black voters in Florida were harassed and intimidated on Election Day four years ago is making a comeback. Only yesterday Jimmy Carter, fresh from blessing Hugo Chavez’s dubious victory in Venezuela, moaned that in 2000 “several thousand ballots of African Americans were thrown out on technicalities” in Florida, and that this year more black than (Republican) Hispanic felons are being disqualified to vote–as if all felons weren’t supposed to be barred, regardless of race.
This carries on the claim that Bush was “selected, not elected” which has become quite popular over the last four years. So, I thought I’d spend just a few minutes (that’s all it took) doing a little research on the web. It is, once again, an accusation based on lies. Even CNN admits the recounts all showed Bush beat Gore in Florida.
A comprehensive study of the 2000 presidential election in Florida suggests that if the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed a statewide vote recount to proceed, Republican candidate George W. Bush would still have been elected president.
And as for blacks being targeted, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found no such conspiracy.
In an OpinionJournal editorial, the “bad ballot” claim takes a major hit:
Which leaves the “stolen election” crowd with these inconvenient facts: In 24 of the 25 Florida counties with the highest ballot spoilage rate, the county supervisor was a Democrat. In the 25th county, the supervisor was an Independent. And as for the “felon purge list,” the Miami Herald found that whites were twice as likely to be incorrectly placed on the list as blacks.
And for an explanation of the US Supreme Court rulings, check this from the BBC. Talk about fair and balanced.
This is going to be pounded daily by MSM and DNC advertising. The NAACP and all the anti-Bush 527s will be adding to the noise. Jimmy Carter is looking for relevance in the US, and will be in Florida to monitor the election as he was in Venezuela. Count on it. The only problem with it is that the whole thing is a huge lie.
Unless you just want to believe it.
September 27, 2004
20 years in the Senate…
Yahoo! News – Kerry appeals for end to election advertising war
“I’m calling them ‘misleadisments,'” Kerry said of the adverts. “It’s all scare tactics … because (Bush) has no record to run on.”
I think Kerry has been looking in the wrong mirror.
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Staff Problems
As Glenn points out, Kerry is surrounded by people who are totally incompetent. Secret Service men knock him down on the ski slopes, and speech writers always take his ideas and twist them into something incomprehensible. The NY Times has Kerry’s explanation for his reported ownership of a Chinese assault rifle:
Senator John Kerry’s campaign said yesterday that Mr. Kerry did not own a Chinese assault rifle, as he was quoted as saying in Outdoor Life magazine, but a single-bolt-action military rifle, blaming aides who filled out the magazine’s questionnaire on his behalf for the error.
Some will point to Kerry’s response as blaming others for his failings. I see it as incompetence in creating a staff that functions.
September 26, 2004
Kerry vs. Althouse
Ann Althouse talks about how she has followed this campaign since beginning her blog in January.
I’ve said many times that I’m not going to pick my candidate until October. Yet I find myself expressing an increasing amount of hostility to Kerry, so I thought I’d go back and trace the arc of my antagonism through my various posts.
I’ve had the same feeling. At first, Kerry was a non-entity. All the press coverage focussed on Dean. Of course, we’ve all seen Gephardt, Leiberman, and Sharpton during the last few years.
Then out comes Kerry. Sorry, he doesn’t look at all distinguished or even personable. And the more I learn, the more I’m certain my first impression was accurate.
Ann talks about the ups and downs of her opinion as she has learned more about Kerry as well. Perhaps you’ll see your own sense of the man over the last six months in her descriptions.