Presidential Candidates and American Service

04/29/2008

Paul Munnis


Although Mr. Bush refuses to take responsibility for the poor economy most of us know better. We know the sources of the problems we are facing and we know the involvement of the Bush Administration is the cause of much of our woe.

We are somewhat comforted by the notion that if government can be so badly managed then the opposite must also be true – government can be well managed. That is what we Democrats aspire to – we seek the opportunity to manage our government with distinction and in genuine service to our nation.

We know that the first principle is to end these two national occupations, one in Afghanistan and the other in Iraq. Those wars are over with and we have chosen to occupy those two nations. We can also choose not to occupy those two nations – it depends upon what’s at stake.

In the case of Afghanistan there is little by way of an articulated purpose for our occupation except it is retaliation for 9/11. Many think Osama Bin Laden is dead and is being kept alive as a threat symbol and to provide a bogeyman for the administration to justify the occupation of Afghanistan. Retaliation makes sense but the notion of nation building in Afghanistan is not something that we can do, it’s something the Karzi government must accomplish. We can assist Karzi but we doubt that we can erase the Taliban from Islam for they are a consequence of support by and from the people of Afghanistan. Eliminating the Taliban is like saying you will rid the world of Catholics. Any attempt will simply breed more replacements as the Romans learned when they tried to persecute the Christians in Rome after the death of Christ. The Book of Martyrs bears witness to the futility of religious persecution.

In the case of Iraq the observation that there is no military solution to the problems of Iraq, only diplomatic solutions, is the point frequently made by Congress but ignored by Bush. It is in this area of diplomacy that the Bush Administration really falls short. Congress is pushing on Bush now to let Iraq pay for reconstruction and a separate push is aimed at making the Iraqi government troops take responsibility for the safety and future of their new state and new government. So far it’s not going very well.

So in both cases the occupation can end whenever the politicians decide to end it. When it does end those nations that we vacate will have to stand on their own.

Once the occupations end then we Americans can concentrate on our domestic situation and we can start to address home-front issues.

Among the domestic issues to address is rebuilding and equipping our military forces for the 21st century. At least the next 50 years of it. Then there is the matter of strengthening the dollar and a need to support the dollar and to restore it to its prior place of honor in the world.

Another agenda item is the matter of foreign trade and oil imports as the single biggest trade problem for us. We need to fund and pursue alternative energy solutions for America and reduce or eliminate foreign imports. Then there are other matters including assurance that G.W. Bush is tried on charges of crimes against humanity, and we need the restoration of American civil liberties, plus obtaining real homeland security, and addressing saving Social Security and Medicare even as Universal healthcare is established. This is a tall order but one that we Democrats are quite up to. In the process we will end the recession and restore the middle-class.

Which candidate can best do that? I think either of the Democratic candidates could Captain the ship of State pretty well. I don’t think that John McCain could do so, he lacks credibility and most of his programs have been proven wrong over the past eight years. He himself admits he is not strong on economics or foreign diplomacy. When we look at the things that must get done such as ending the occupations McCain is content to just stay on in Iraq for a long time. We think that is pure folly.

I think McCain would put an end to torture and abuse by our government and our military but I don’t think he’d let the Bush crowd take their just punishment for their crimes against humanity. When it comes to a restoration of civil liberties I doubt that McCain would want to support the U.S. Constitution because his Party, as a matter of platform, advocates the toppling of many provisions in our U.S. Constitution and the elimination of some parts of the U.S. Bill of Rights. As for strengthening the dollar McCain is a captive of the neo-cons and they will not strengthen the U.S. Dollar. They are the reason that our economy is in the ditch right now.

When it comes to foreign trade we expect that McCain will side with the forces of globalization and promote free unrestricted trade. That includes the Chinese and we doubt that a McCain presidency would do much to control trade with America. We are suffering from bad quality from China and it is impacting national health and child safety as a result. Another major initiative is improving our national health care and the Republicans are against any public policy solutions even though privatized solutions are all failed programs.

In summary, there is much to be done by the next Administration. Either Democratic candidate can get the agenda accomplished but McCain is doubtful and has huge baggage that he is bringing to the ballot box.

When it comes to American Service the only part that the GOP has excelled at is… Hmmm, I can’t point out anything that we are better off with because of Republican rule… can you?