Commentary: Election 2004 Kerry, Bush: Best We Can Do? By Sam Ehsani (April 19, 2004)

Though the elections are many months away, the mud slinging between John F. Kerry and George W. Bush has already begun, and voters are already turning away from the booths. Bush is hindered by the accusations of Richard Clarke, while Kerry’s prior decisions as a senator are questionable. It seems that many people will choose the lesser of the two evils in this election. 

John F. Kerry, a senator from the state of Massachusetts, has attacked Bush on many occasions, for his policies on education, civil liberties, trade practices and the Iraq war. Yet, as a senator, Kerry has voted in Bush’s favor for all of these topics. These actions have given Kerry the appearance of a "flip-flopper" when it comes to voting. Bush’s "No Child Left Behind" law was respected by Kerry, who said that it was even under funded! The law enforced more testing in schools and is something that many Democrats were fighting against, but Kerry supported it. Kerry also thinks that the US Patriot Act would be a beneficial bill, if the search and seizure portion would not be abused. The act gives the government the right to basically spy on its citizens without their knowledge. Officials can monitor everything from e-mails to medical records, and can wiretap phones and break into homes and offices, if it has to do with national security. 

Kerry fully agreed with the war on Iraq, but did not want to rush the war. He also approved of Bush’s actions with trade practices. Many believe that this could hurt him in the long run, because Democrats could begin to turn to Ralph Nader. Then, there is the other side of the voting spectrum that could affect Kerry. Many people see Kerry as a liberal, and some of his voting in the past reveals this as well. In the National Journal magazine, Kerry was seen as the most liberal person in the Senate. Through a test that scores contestants 0 to 100, Kerry received a 96.5 rating. Even liberal Senator Edward Kennedy was unable to contend with that. The rating was based on the way each Senator voted throughout his career, based on three categories: economic, social, and foreign policy. Kerry is now branded a "flip-flopper" and this turns the appeal off of him, and onto Ralph Nader. 

George W. Bush is using the "war president" platform in his campaign trying to give the American public the perception that a wartime president cannot be ousted. Bush was definitely the war president, accomplishing two wars in just his first term! In Afghanistan, 116 Americans have died in battle. Meanwhile, 3,800 civilians were killed in Afghanistan from the air raid at the beginning of the war. (Casualty Figures Cited From: BBC News). From then on, no American media has been covering the death toll in Afghanistan. Think how many are dead since then. In his recent stint in Iraq a total of over 600 American soldiers have died, and over 3,400 Americans have been injured. Not to mention the whopping numbers of Iraqi civilians that have died as a result of the American-led intervention in Iraq. (Casualty Figures Cited From: "Iraq Body Count"). A grand total of 715 Americans killed overseas and at least 14,449 civilians in the two wars waged by George W. Bush. That is a grand total of at least 15,164 people dead during Bush’s tenure as president. How are all of these deaths justified? 

Perhaps the Afghanistan war was a result of the horrible September 11 tragedy, but Iraq had no connection with 9-11. It was supposed to be due to the mighty WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION! Unfortunately for the Bush Administration, this secret weapon stash that Saddam Hussein was supposed to have was not found. The basis for all of the information that put millions of people in peril seems to be a complete lie. Perhaps there was a different reason for waging war on Iraq, one that could be related to the fact that Dick Cheney was a former chief executive for the company Halliburton. Halliburton was given a contract to manage Iraq, which contains the most oil out of any other country other than Saudi Arabia. Halliburton helps resurrect hospitals and schools, but also supervises the rich oil fields in Iraq. According to The Guardian it is estimated that Halliburton will receive $900 million in this contract. The two wars that George W. Bush has waged on two different countries is what he is using for his "war president" stance in the presidential elections, but I believe he should look at the numbers before he continues down this particular campaign trail. 

In conclusion, in my opinion, the two main presidential candidates have major flaws that affect their popularity. Bush is preoccupied with war, and during his watch, thousands of people have died. Kerry is a "flip-flopper" in his voting, and therefore he may not be popular for some voters. This is the dilemma as the year moves closer and closer to election time. Are these two candidates really the best this country has to offer?