Disappointing Dean, King Kerry

I’m actually disappointed in how poorly Howard Dean hasbeen doing in the Democratic primaries.

Those who know me rather well may not find that so unusual.

I am aware, of course, that there’s a good chance youdon’t know the ins and outs of my political views, so allowme to explain.

You see, I tend to lean — rather firmly, really —towards the conservative side of things, while Howard Dean …well, doesn’t.

But my support of his run for the Democratic nomination hasnothing to do with shared ideology, and everything to do with thefact that Dean would stand no chance of beating Bush when Novemberrolls around.

I hoped the Democrats’ deeply rooted hatred of Bush mightdrive them to nominate Dean simply because he’s everythingthat Bush is not.

As we come through more of the Democratic primaries andcaucuses, though, it becomes clearer each day that Dean has lostall of the momentum he once had.

His chances have gone from slender to slim, and right now,they’re bordering on none.

And while Dean’s blazing-hot campaign has turned intosomething more closely resembling a funeral pyre, Sen. John Kerryhas taken firm control of the Democratic field. I still doubt hisability to defeat Bush in a presidential election (Wesley Clarkposes the most legitimate threat, in my opinion) but he willcertainly put up a better fight than Dean would have.

So, in honor of Kerry’s recent successes, I’d liketo take this opportunity to launch a preemptive strike against theDemocratic frontrunner and demonstrate why America would be bestserved to take a good hard look at the reality behind hisrhetoric.

Now, I had a decent understanding of Kerry’s positions onthe issues, but to ensure that I represented his views accurately,I looked up his campaign Web site. The quotes below are takendirectly from it:

“George W. Bush has chosen tax cuts for the wealthy andspecial favors for the special interests over our economicfuture.”

Much has been made of the fact that 20 percent of Bush’stax cut went to one percent of the American population.

Personally, I find it more concerning that one percent ofAmericans are paying so much more in taxes that they’re ableto get that much back — and still be paying far more than therest of the nation. If a very small section of the public is payingan exorbitantly large portion of America’s taxes, it makessense that a fair tax cut would give an appropriately large portionof that money back.

“The first thing John Kerry will do is fight his heart outto bring back the three million jobs that have been lost underGeorge W. Bush. He will fight to restore the jobs lost under Bushin the first 500 days of his administration.”

I find it interesting that Kerry says nothing about fighting torestore the jobs lost in the final days of the Clintonadministration.

After all, the economy started to go down the tubes before theelection even took place, long before Bush took the oath ofoffice.

Surely Kerry doesn’t think that the American public hasforgotten about that, does he? Of course he doesn’t.I’m quite certain he’ll mention the role PresidentBush’s policies have played in our current economicrecovery.

Also, a flock of swine has been spotted in flight over theDallas skyline, and Satan has announced his intent to begintraining for the figure skating competition at the 2006 WinterOlympics.

“John Kerry believes that in these times, we need tobolster these efforts with a nationwide commitment to nationalservice.”

Admittedly, one of Kerry’s best ideas — awardingfour years of public college tuition for two years of service— comes in this area. But so does one of his worst: requiringthat “every high school student in America perform communityservice as a requirement for graduation.”

Don’t get me wrong — community service should bevital part of every American’s life. But there are alreadyorganizations like National Honor Society and Key Club thatencourage or require community service from its members.Organizations that people join of their own volition.

If community service becomes a requirement, it ceases to beservice and becomes servitude.

It must remain voluntary, or it loses much of its positiveeffects — both to those being served, and those doing theserving. I could go on, and I have no doubt that I will in weeks tocome, assuming that Kerry continues to achieve the same kind ofsuccess he has recently enjoyed. Of course, maybe Dean will pullout a miracle in the next week or two.

Hey, a guy can hope, right?

Jerry Hall is a senior public policy and English double major.He may be reached at [email protected].