Calif. Hunter
Active member
George Bush vs. the Naive Nine
By ZELL MILLER
As I live and breathe, and if -- as Hank Williams used to say -- the
creek don't rise, in 2004 this Democrat will do something I didn't do in
2000. I will vote for George W. Bush for president. I have come to
believe that George Bush is the right man in the right place at the
right time. And that's a pretty big mouthful coming from a lifelong
Democrat who first voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and has voted for
every Democratic presidential candidate the 12 cycles since then.
My political history to the contrary, this was the easiest decision I
think I've ever made in deciding who to support. For I believe the next
five years will determine the kind of world my four grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren will live in. I simply cannot entrust that crucial
decision to any one of the current group of Democratic presidential
candidates.
Why George Bush?...... First, the personal; then, the political.
I first got to know George Bush when we served as governors together,
and I just plain like the man, a man who feeds his dogs first thing every
morning, has Larry
Gatlin sing in the White House, and knows what is meant by the term
"hitting behind the runner." I am moved by the reverence and tenderness he
shows the first lady and the unabashed love he has for his parents and his
daughters. I admire this man of faith who has lived that line in that old
hymn, "Amazing Grace," "Was blind, but now I see." I like the fact that
he's the same on Saturday night as he is on Sunday morning. And I like a
man who shows respect for others by starting meetings on time.
That's the personal. Now, the political. This is a president who
understands the price of freedom. He understands that leaders throughout
history often have had to choose between good and evil, tyranny and
freedom. And the choice they make can reverberate for generations to come.
This is a president who has some Churchill in him and who does not flinch
when the going gets tough. This is a president who can make a decision and
does not suffer from "paralysis analysis."
This is a president who can look America in the eye and say on Iraq,
"We're not leaving." And you know he means it. This is also a president
who understands that tax cuts are not just something that all taxpayers
deserve, but also the best way to curb government spending. It is the best
kind of tax reform. If the money never reaches the table, Congress can't
gobble it up.
I have just described George W. Bush. Believe me, I looked hard at
the other choices. And what I saw was that the Democratic candidates who
want to be president in the worst way are running for office in the
worst way.
Look closely, there's not much difference among them. I can't say
there's "not a dime's worth of difference" because there's actually
billions of dollars' worth of difference among them. Some want to raise our
taxes a trillion, while the others want to raise our taxes by several
hundred billion.
But, make no mistake, they all want to raise our taxes. They also, to
varying degrees, want us to quit and get out of Iraq. They don't want us to
stay the course in this fight between tyranny and freedom. This is our best
chance to change the course of history in the Middle East.
So I cannot vote for a candidate who wants us to cut and run with our
shirttails at half-mast. I find it hard to believe, but these naive nine
have managed to combine the worst feature of the McGovern campaign
-- the President is a liar and we must have peace at any cost -- with the
worst feature of the Mondale campaign -- watch your wallet, we're going to
raise your taxes. George McGovern carried one state in 1972.
Walter Mondale carried one state in 1984. Not exactly role models when
it comes to how to get elected or, for that matter, how to run a country
So, as I have said, my choice for president was an easy decision.
And my own party's candidates made it even easier.
Note: Mr. Miller is a Democratic senator from Georgia and the author
of "A NATIONAL PARTY NO MORE: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat,"
published last month by Stroud & Hall
I guess it all depends on what your issues are -
By ZELL MILLER
As I live and breathe, and if -- as Hank Williams used to say -- the
creek don't rise, in 2004 this Democrat will do something I didn't do in
2000. I will vote for George W. Bush for president. I have come to
believe that George Bush is the right man in the right place at the
right time. And that's a pretty big mouthful coming from a lifelong
Democrat who first voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and has voted for
every Democratic presidential candidate the 12 cycles since then.
My political history to the contrary, this was the easiest decision I
think I've ever made in deciding who to support. For I believe the next
five years will determine the kind of world my four grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren will live in. I simply cannot entrust that crucial
decision to any one of the current group of Democratic presidential
candidates.
Why George Bush?...... First, the personal; then, the political.
I first got to know George Bush when we served as governors together,
and I just plain like the man, a man who feeds his dogs first thing every
morning, has Larry
Gatlin sing in the White House, and knows what is meant by the term
"hitting behind the runner." I am moved by the reverence and tenderness he
shows the first lady and the unabashed love he has for his parents and his
daughters. I admire this man of faith who has lived that line in that old
hymn, "Amazing Grace," "Was blind, but now I see." I like the fact that
he's the same on Saturday night as he is on Sunday morning. And I like a
man who shows respect for others by starting meetings on time.
That's the personal. Now, the political. This is a president who
understands the price of freedom. He understands that leaders throughout
history often have had to choose between good and evil, tyranny and
freedom. And the choice they make can reverberate for generations to come.
This is a president who has some Churchill in him and who does not flinch
when the going gets tough. This is a president who can make a decision and
does not suffer from "paralysis analysis."
This is a president who can look America in the eye and say on Iraq,
"We're not leaving." And you know he means it. This is also a president
who understands that tax cuts are not just something that all taxpayers
deserve, but also the best way to curb government spending. It is the best
kind of tax reform. If the money never reaches the table, Congress can't
gobble it up.
I have just described George W. Bush. Believe me, I looked hard at
the other choices. And what I saw was that the Democratic candidates who
want to be president in the worst way are running for office in the
worst way.
Look closely, there's not much difference among them. I can't say
there's "not a dime's worth of difference" because there's actually
billions of dollars' worth of difference among them. Some want to raise our
taxes a trillion, while the others want to raise our taxes by several
hundred billion.
But, make no mistake, they all want to raise our taxes. They also, to
varying degrees, want us to quit and get out of Iraq. They don't want us to
stay the course in this fight between tyranny and freedom. This is our best
chance to change the course of history in the Middle East.
So I cannot vote for a candidate who wants us to cut and run with our
shirttails at half-mast. I find it hard to believe, but these naive nine
have managed to combine the worst feature of the McGovern campaign
-- the President is a liar and we must have peace at any cost -- with the
worst feature of the Mondale campaign -- watch your wallet, we're going to
raise your taxes. George McGovern carried one state in 1972.
Walter Mondale carried one state in 1984. Not exactly role models when
it comes to how to get elected or, for that matter, how to run a country
So, as I have said, my choice for president was an easy decision.
And my own party's candidates made it even easier.
Note: Mr. Miller is a Democratic senator from Georgia and the author
of "A NATIONAL PARTY NO MORE: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat,"
published last month by Stroud & Hall
I guess it all depends on what your issues are -
