If you read one article before the elections....

Make it this one. The New Yorker soundly endorses the wiser choice.

A selection:

The decision to invade and occupy Iraq was made on the basis of four assumptions: first, that Saddam�s regime was on the verge of acquiring nuclear explosives and had already amassed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons; second, that the regime had meaningful links with Al Qaeda and (as was repeatedly suggested by the Vice-President and others) might have had something to do with 9/11; third, that within Iraq the regime�s fall would be followed by prolonged celebration and rapid and peaceful democratization; and, fourth, that a similar democratic transformation would be precipitated elsewhere in the region, accompanied by a new eagerness among Arab governments and publics to make peace between Israel and a presumptive Palestinian state. The first two of these assumptions have been shown to be entirely baseless. As for the second two, if the wishes behind them do someday come true, it may not be clear that the invasion of Iraq was a help rather than a hindrance.


...


Kerry�s mettle has been tested under fire�the fire of real bullets and the political fire that will surely not abate but, rather, intensify if he is elected�and he has shown himself to be tough, resilient, and possessed of a properly Presidential dose of dignified authority. While Bush has pandered relentlessly to the narrowest urges of his base, Kerry has sought to appeal broadly to the American center. In a time of primitive partisanship, he has exhibited a fundamentally undogmatic temperament. In campaigning for America�s mainstream restoration, Kerry has insisted that this election ought to be decided on the urgent issues of our moment, the issues that will define American life for the coming half century. That insistence is a measure of his character.


Comment: The Choice, The New Yorker Magazine, Oct. 27th 2004.

-koji K.

[edit on 27-10-2004 by koji_K]

.
Short message,

If you like screw-ups vote for Bush.
He has screwed up the entire enterprise in Iraq and has screwed the American people for his friends, the CEOs of expatriot Corporations.

If you want someone who has held a gun in their hand and used it for the sake of this nation and has intelligence and genuine concern for the American People, vote for John F. Kerry.
.

Originally posted by slank
If you want someone who has held a gun in their hand and used it for the sake of this nation and has intelligence and genuine concern for the American People, vote for John F. Kerry.
.

Damn, Kerry has real concern for America? I've not caught that point yet.

Even if he is truely concerned, he will fail to do much more than Bush, especially with a strong conservative push hawking him at every turn.

But it's much as I expect if Bush wins. Strong liberal push etc etc.

Koji K - why should I care what the new yorker's opinon is? Or any other magazine, newspaper, celebrity, newscast etc. for that matter?
I don't get the whole newspaper endorsement thing, why are people so quick to be told what thier opinion shold be?

Originally posted by mwm1331
Koji K - why should I care what the new yorker's opinon is? Or any other magazine, newspaper, celebrity, newscast etc. for that matter?
I don't get the whole newspaper endorsement thing, why are people so quick to be told what thier opinion shold be?

It's not about being told what your opinion should be, it's about exposing yourself to the opinions of others. In the case of this article, its op ed by proxy. I couldnt have written a better one myself (at least in the amount of free time available to me). The endorsement thing is an attempt by newspapers and magazines to summarize the view of what they see as their readsership base. People shouldn't take their opinion straight out of a newspaper or magazine, but they should read as msuch as possible as an aid to forming opinions. I can understand that we haven't been set a very good example on this score though by a certain Commander in Chief.

-koji K.

Originally posted by KrazyJethro

Damn, Kerry has real concern for America? I've not caught that point yet.

Even if he is truely concerned, he will fail to do much more than Bush, especially with a strong conservative push hawking him at every turn.

But it's much as I expect if Bush wins. Strong liberal push etc etc.

I get the whole third party raison d'etre, but to not qualify Kerry as the best & most qualified man in this Presidential race is being completely blind to the facts on the ground - kind of how Rumsfeld was saying that we could secure post invasion Iraq with 40K troops!
If you want to go with the ideologically driven theme that the only way to change the system is to break the strangle hold of the two parties, I'll agree with you.
BUT, Badnarik, Nader, Jay et al - none of these people are as remotely qualifed as Kerry, and voting for any of them will be a vote enabling Bush's continued illegal & immoral squat in the Oval office.
I also am puzzled with the "Fail to do much more than Bush"? Much more of what!?! Destroying our environment, economy, world markets, alligiances, security? Hell yeah, I definetly agree!!!
Kerry, by virtue of all that's been laid out to date, will bring back the environmental & economic safeguards that were summarily abandoned by the Bush Team for their corporate masters - those things alone are critical and worthy of selecting him president.

ENDORSEMENTS by PAPERS & PERIODICALS: entites that do NOTHING BUT track the information on the life segments above ARE CREDIBLE SOURCES of then running that information through the filter of where we collectively sit as a nation & giving an assessment. THAT IS WHY most all of the National papers & respected periodicals have endorsed Kerry. Partisan rose colored glasses are the only thing from keeping the clusterf*** from you that's obvious to everyone else.

Look, I'm from Massachusetts. Do you think we were all jumping up and down when Kerry was nominated? Not really. Not that there was anything WRONG with Kerry. But I think we were all hoping for someone who would ride in on a white horse and straighten-out this deplorable mess. I'm a small business owner AND in Bush's 'favored tax class'. As a result, I have alot of selfish reasons for wanting the Bush regime to stay in power.

That said, I use the 'Trump-Apprentice' model to evaulate the president. If he went to the boardroom saying, "well my team told me there were nukes, weapons stockpiles, Al Queda/911 links, would be democracy and dancing in the streets after an invasion.." and it tunred out as it has, what do you think The Donald would say? It's poor performance and bad decisions. He's responsible. The buck stops with him. He's fired.

Originally posted by Bout Time
THAT IS WHY most all of the National papers & respected periodicals have endorsed Kerry. Partisan rose colored glasses are the only thing from keeping the clusterf*** from you that's obvious to everyone else.

I'm not sure what makes reporters more qualified to make that determination than anyone else, so honestly paper and media endorsements mean little outside some more uninformed voters.

But that goes for each side.

As far as the best man in the race, I seriously doubt that unless you see our country adding more and more onto an already screwed system.

More money will not help.

More legislation will not help.

More talks will not help.

More federal intervention will not help.

He certainly is not the best man for the job and more than Bush is. Trust me, I am not voting for either because they are both headed in the wrong direction.

I also think taking the tax breaks from those over 200,000k really cements Kerry's base.

Originally posted by jtma508
Look, I'm from Massachusetts. Do you think we were all jumping up and down when Kerry was nominated? Not really. Not that there was anything WRONG with Kerry. But I think we were all hoping for someone who would ride in on a white horse and straighten-out this deplorable mess. I'm a small business owner AND in Bush's 'favored tax class'. As a result, I have alot of selfish reasons for wanting the Bush regime to stay in power.

That said, I use the 'Trump-Apprentice' model to evaulate the president. If he went to the boardroom saying, "well my team told me there were nukes, weapons stockpiles, Al Queda/911 links, would be democracy and dancing in the streets after an invasion.." and it tunred out as it has, what do you think The Donald would say? It's poor performance and bad decisions. He's responsible. The buck stops with him. He's fired.

Good point. I am also a small business owner. One of the things I have realized over the years if people don�t have money I don�t make as much money. Right now lets be honest people don�t have much money, they have credit. The credit is starting to burden them into spending less, and less. I want Clinton policies back. Under Clinton there was. Better jobs, a higher standard of living, and more money.
Republican fiscal policy doesn�t work and it has been proved time and time again. Look what happen when Bush Sr. raised taxes and followed a democratic plan for the economy. He started a huge boom by doing it! Bush Jr. ruined it.

Is anyone really better off today then they were 4 years ago?

I have read alot af articles and watched a lot of news ,cnn,fox,msnbc,gaurdian uk, and any thing i can get my hands on i.e. news junkie. But i'm still voteing for bush. I trust him just a little more than kerry. Witch is not saying much ,but bush started this war let him finish it. Plus i am a capitalist whore.

If Kerry has such a deep concern, then why will he not release his full records? Just sign the 180 form and we all can see what he is hiding, but we all really know why he will not sign it, it would be political suicide.

Dirtydevil: I'm much better off than I was four years ago. Then again, I gained a few ranks, had several pay raises and have been in a few tax-free zones in that time. And in my mind, I'm at peace with the realization that I serve under a government that now reconizes we aren't the Unite States of the World, but the United States of America. Our People and needs must come first....