One of the most important elections in history is upon us and Election Day is just weeks away. It is imperative that all voters take a look at the candidates and whether they will have the ability to lead us over the next four years. The incumbent, George W. Bush, is someone who people seem to either love or hate. One major argument against his presidency is the struggling economy, but everyone seems to have forgotten the effects of one of the biggest disasters in U.S. history, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
One great example is the travel and hospitality industry. After Sept. 11, the amount of travel by U.S. citizens decreased dramatically, sending catastrophic shockwaves throughout the industry. This led to billions of dollars in losses and layoffs creating a ripple effect felt across the nation. No president in Bush's position would have been able to prevent this decline in the economy. However, in the last year alone, the economy has grown 4.8 percent and 1.5 million new jobs have been created, proving that the country is beginning to recover from an inevitable recession.
There is one main difference between George W. Bush and his challenger John Kerry. Bush is a leader while Kerry is just a follower of the current popular opinion. Bush has always been a resolute decision-maker while Kerry has been as indecisive as possible. In 2002 Kerry voted to use force in Iraq and throughout the war he said that he supported the president. Once the public sentiment began to turn away from the war he became a staunch anti-war candidate. One year ago Kerry stated that he would push for increased funding in order to help reconstruction and our troops in Iraq. A month and a half later Kerry voted against a bill that would provide $87 billion to help our troops and was remarkably quoted saying, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." This kind of indecisive leadership is one of many traits that make John Kerry a leader who is unfit to command this country.
It is our right as citizens of the United States to vote and I encourage everyone to do so. For those of you out there that are planning on voting for John Kerry just to cast a vote against the incumbent, think about the leadership, or lack thereof, that you will be putting into the White House. Look at the candidates closely and you will see that at this time the last thing this country needs is an indecisive leader.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
