Part Deux

I just finished watching the second Presidential debate. It seemed as though George caught his second wind tonight. It would appear that he performs better when he can interact with a crowd, as opposed to standing behind a podium pontificating. He certainly came out more pugnacious than the last debate.

I know my liberal readers will certainly declare their man the winner, as if they would come to any other conclusion. Look, I'll admit that George was certainly not on his game for the last one. This one, Kerry spent the majority of his time on his heels and on the defensive.

At one point in the debate the President had pointed out the cost of Kerry's proposed new programs and Kerry called him on it claiming the President used "fuzzy math" to arrive at those numbers, but what the Senator failed to do was provide an alternative number. If one protracts the health insurance proposal alone, the estimate is that it would cost $895 Billion. Kerry claims he would pay for this program by raising taxes on those tax payers earning more than $200,000. Unfortunately, that tactic would simply not cover the cost. In fact it would only raise $425 Billion. I'm sure I don't need to point the disparity out, even to our liberal friends.

Kerry returned to his disproved claims about offshoring. The problem you see is this. Firstly, offshoring is not that big of a problem. Even if it were, Kerry's solution (increasing taxes on those who offshore - of course) would drive prices for the goods those companies produce up. You don't think those companies are going to simply eat the increased cost of doing business do you? So now those employed by the tactic must earn more in order to purchase the things they need, but paying these workers more, again drives prices higher. It's a self-defeating cycle.

Further John Kerry admitted that he can't stop outsourcing. If I were a liberal, I'd spin this like they did the President's "can't win the war" statement, but instead I'll simply allow it to stand on its own merit as a statement of the lunacy of this particular campaign issue.

Of course in Kerry's closing statements, he had to get a Haliburton dig in. When will the liberals tire of trotting these distortions out? They've been rather substantially disproved. To use a favorite Democrat phrase "If you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth". Not if me and people like me have any say in the matter!

Another interesting development of the evening is that Senator Kerry didn't even try to discount the President's contention that he had inherited a troubled economy from the Clinton administration. The fact of the President's assertion has already been substantially proven but I can't find that link at the moment. If one wishes to do, what their candidate refused to do, then I guess I'll dig it out at that point.

Another danger inherent to the Kerry plan is his insistence on returning to the "pay as you go" plan that was the hallmark of the 1990's and Clinton's Presidency. What he fails to mention however is the massive military base closings and downsizing that occurred during that period to achieve that goal. Do we really want to downsize our military while at war? Another byproduct of the tight budget in the 1990's - is our troops running around in Iraq in unarmored Hummers instead of proper fighting vehicles. Sure it's financially cheaper to field a jeep than it is a tank, but how expensive is it in costs of life and limb? (You should already know my stance on this issue! -and- don't get me started on the faster, leaner meaner military fallacy!)

Ok, too late! Kerry faulted the President for sending our troops into Iraq in unarmored Hummers. I know that doing so is stupid. The President knows that doing so is stupid, but what could be done. The military has to be ready to fight with whatever they have on hand. It was not George Bush who stripped our military of their might! It was William Jefferson Clinton. His policies gutted our military. When I served in the military, I was in the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment (Toujours Pret!). Those boys recently returned from Iraq. They served in Najaf, engaging in some tough fighting against al-Sadr and his gang of fanatical nut-balls. This unit is "armored" in name only now. Cavalry is front line shock troops. How "shocking" are they dashing into the fray in trucks for chrissake? (Please don't think I'm not proud of you guys, I'm damned proud you and wish I could have been there with you!) Who do we have to thank for that mess? Not George Bush, that's to be sure. We have Bill Clinton and his hand-picked crony in the Pentagon General Shinseki (here just have a look at more of his handiwork or here or even here have a look at a document created for a democrat in the House.) My heart lies irrevocably with our troops, because not that long ago I was one and my daughter is one now!

Kerry again faulted the President for withdrawing from the Kyoto treaty, but he admitted that the treaty was flawed. He suggested that the President should have went back and "fixed the problems". This might be a valid assertion were the President's attention not better spent leading a nation at war!

Senator Kerry again discounted our allies in the war on terror, and again suggested that he would bring the French back to the bargaining table with "a fresh start". Look this has been hashed to death already. The French have already said they're not going into Iraq PERIOD. Get it through your thick skull Senator. Also get it through you head that you are not winning any fans with our current allies by discounting their contributions.

All in all, I'd say the President performed very well, and his better performance caught Kerry off guard, allowing Bush to chalk this one up to his column.