Topic says "Your Thoughts"--well, OK


It's the most important election in decades.

And the choice is incredibly clear, it seems to me.

It's just about a perfect clash of emotion vs reason.

Bush's entire campaign is based on emotion.

First there's fear--particularly notable since he's been telling people to not be swayed by fear on 2 November.

If they are not swayed by fear, they will toss him out. He and Cheney have been constantly stoking fear, fear that another American city will be hit by terrorists, fear that Kerry won't be aggressive enough in combating terror, fear that marriage will be undermined, and on and on---some Bushites even put out a flyer (was it in West Virginia?) that the Bible would
be banned.

Then there's the religious appeal itself--since it requires the believer to take so much "on faith"---also not susceptible to reasoning through.   Bush has made a big pitch to all 3 of the major religions in the US--and will get a large number of conservatives in all 3----Protestant fundamentalists through his anti-abortion stance and opposition to homosexual marriage, Catholics especially because of the abortion issue, and Orthodox Jews through support for Israel--though they have no idea what President Kerry will do.

It's truly amazing how little Bush supporters know about the issues and the real world----I've read that by a wide margin they even think the rest of the world favors Bush's election-------could hardly be more wrong on that.


Kerry believes in facts, in researching an issue, trying to get as many views as possible, in order to make an informed decision, and even changing his view, if the facts warrant it.

Bush believes in ignoring or denying any fact that doesn't fit his pre-conceived simplistic view of the world.

I really have looked for a Bush supporter who based his support on reason.

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, had a column in the Wall St Journal on what to look for in a candidate today. He's no dodo, obviously, and would be expected to have good solid criteria. I knew he would support Bush.

These are his criteria:

1) Is the candidate likable?
2) Does the candidate have a paranoid streak?---yes, Jack Welch thought this a good trait
3) Can the candidate see around corners? (predict the future)
4) Does the candidate support business?

That's right---in an attempt to justify support for Bush, he could not come up with one trait based on logic or reason (I count a desire for support for business in a candidate as not an objective request, coming from Mr. Welch).

I don't see how anybody who favors reason over emotion in government (do we really want a paranoid president?) could hesitate.

It has to be Kerry over Bush.