By Alisa Harris
Last week, I went to see the President of the United States. He spoke at a campaign stop in Albuquerque last Wednesday, and I sat only a few feet away as he spoke --- separated from the most powerful man in the world by a couple rows of state legislators.
What was the president like? He was articulate, quick-witted and warm. He was simple and plain. He was clear. And I saw in him two things the world needs.
The first is straight talk.
In his speech, Bush said simply, “There’s an enemy out there that hates us.” He’s right, and that enemy needs to know loudly and clearly right where we stand and why.
George Bush tells it to our enemies straight. From September 11, when he said we would “find those responsible and … bring them to justice,” through the search for Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, Bush’s words have not changed. George Bush says what he means. His position is plain. His message is clear. George Bush doesn’t waver. He doesn’t back down.
Is he always right? No. But when he’s wrong, you can dialogue because you know where he stands.
That’s the difference between Bush and John Kerry.
John Kerry doesn’t talk straight. John Kerry flip-flops and sways until no one knows quite where he stands. Kerry voted “yes” to a war in Iraq, but called himself an anti-war candidate a year later. He declared that refusing to fund the troops fighting the war was “irresponsible,” but he voted against giving the troops the $8.7 billion they needed. He explained things by saying, “I actually did vote for the 8.7 billion before I voted against it,” then further muddled matters by pleading, “The whole thing is a complicated matter.”
Just where does he stand? And what will our enemies think of a man so confused that he can’t plant his feet and say, “This is what I believe”? The second thing we need is the strength to put talk into action --- the strength to do what we say we will do.
President Bush does what he says he will do. If Bush determines to free Afghanistan, he will free Afghanistan. If Bush sees that Saddam Hussein is a threat and should be removed, Bush will remove Saddam Hussein. If Bush says all countries who harbor terrorists will answer to us, all countries who harbor terrorists will answer to us. And if Bush starts a war, he will fund his troops.
Bush follows straight talk with strong action. Kerry follows tentative talk with more and more tentative talk.
Bush said something I think sums up the choice in this year’s election: “If America says something it must be easy to understand and you must mean it. If we’re uncertain or if we doublespeak, the world will drift towards tragedy.”
“I know what I’m doing when it comes to winning this war and I’m not going to be sending mixed signals,” he said. “What we’re going to accomplish is a free society in a part of the world where people are desperate for freedom. This is an historic moment.”
It is. We face insane enemies – people who behead businessmen and bomb babies and grandparents. If we’re going to create a free society in that tortured part of the world and if we are going to keep our own free world, we will need what George W. Bush gives ---straight talk and strength.
Dude, there is always plenty of stuff to do at the TEEN ZONE!
Contact the Teen Zone at 566-2201 or email at teenzone@infoway.org.