Let the word ring forth...

The title of my last post related to the fact that I was focusing on only one point within the post itself. I don't want there to be anyone thinking that I think the economy is the only point in this election.

It is true that I have discussed various issues here so far - from my sad attempts at starting my blog to Zell Miller.
But there is only one issue that matters and that is combined issue of
National Defense and the War on Terror.

It really is only one issue and it is the most important issue by far.

It doesn't matter if we have a president who can do wonders for the economy, because if we get attacked, the economy will sink.

A more important feature in a president is being able to create consumer confidence in the recession-begging atmosphere that comes after a terrorist attack.

I saw George W. Bush do that in 2001. As I said before, I don't think a President can control an economy all by himself, but in this country, the way people feel about how a president will steer the nation has a large effect on how much they are buying and how far they are willing to travel on their family vacation.

To repeat: I have talked about other issues, and I will continue to talk about other issues, because people who aren't (yet) voting for President Bush seem to care about those issues a lot.
But the safety of our country & the defeat of worldwide terrorism is the issue that trumps them all.

All that being said, I find that people's perspectives on Kerry are interesting.

Just today I talked to my friend Phoebe. She's a Romanian citizen who is visiting family in Germany and she's been watching a lot of CNN while she's there. We've never talked politics before to the point that she didn't even know the person for whom I would vote come November. But She said to me "I saw that other guy running against the President. I don't know his name, but I saw him talking and I could see that he was trying to paint the President darkly and make him look bad and he just seemed to me that he was being...kind of stupid."

There you have it: the international community's reaction to John Kerry - and that was even Kerry as seen through the rose-colored-camera-lens of CNN.


Oh, and the Ranger from the North (and all other Minnesotans) should be happy to hear the news that two of their statesman are standing in President Bush's corner.