IT SOMETIMES feels like this campaign has gone on for hundreds of years. Granted, this campaign has gone on for years, so this feeling is not entirely without just cause. Since this has been one of the most bitterly contested elections in recent memory, and since a good deal of the electorate is motivated by hate, emotions have been running high since over a year ago. Fortunately, my fellow Americans, tomorrow we have an opportunity to put this election behind us. Only by voting en masse and showing our support for the president can we be assured of a margin of victory so significant that no amount of litigation by the flip-flopping Democrats can turn it the other way.
The presidency of George W. Bush was changed forever, as were all of our lives, on that morning of Sept. 11, 2001. When our country was attacked by unprovoked extreme Islamic terrorists, the world was changed. The president's mission became, more than ever, to protect our country from these radicals. Bush has protected our country, and that is the first and foremost reason why he deserves your vote tomorrow. There has not been another terrorist attack in this country, and it certainly has not been for lack of trying.
As a nation, we have aggressively searched for and destroyed terrorists and regimes that supported terrorism. We have liberated the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. We have destroyed over 70 percent of al Qaeda's infrastructure. We are winning the war on terrorism.
Afghanistan held its first national democratic elections several weeks ago, a great milestone for a nation that used to have forced public amputations for minor criminals. Twenty-five million people who used to suffer under the despotic regime of a brutal dictator are now free in Iraq. Elections will be held there within a year. Yes, there is continued violence. Yes, the same extreme Muslims that attacked our country so oppose the creation of a free democratic nation in Iraq that they are willing to die to promote their flawed vision of a society that oppresses women, opposes human rights and attacks people solely because of their religious beliefs.
We must acknowledge that these terrorists continue to attack us in Iraq in order to weaken our resolve. The terrorists would like nothing more than for this country to waver in its effort to eradicate the world of this particularly nasty form of violence.
There is a fundamental difference between President Bush and Sen. Kerry on their stance on terrorism -- the most important issue of this campaign. Kerry is so adamant about worldwide support for combating terrorists because he sees the war on terror similar to the war on drugs -- simply that there are a group of individuals committing crimes who must be brought to justice. However, these terrorists are more than just a group of criminals. The real danger -- and George W. Bush realizes this -- is that should the terrorists acquire control of a nation-state, their power would be increased by an unimaginable magnitude. With the control of a sovereign nation comes international recognition and protection. With the control of a nation comes the power to wage war and to make laws. If terrorists can wage war from the safety of sovereign borders, our nation is no longer safe. In addition to liberating two nations, our president has prevented Afghanistan and Iraq from creating state-supported terrorism.
A lot of mud has been slung regarding Kerry's tendency to change positions on important issues, and this certainly is a factor when evaluating his candidacy. However, if you catch him at the right moment, he will vocally condemn the handling of the war on terror, the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. He has voted against funding the war on terror, just like he has voted against nearly every major weapons systems in the past 10 years, just like he has voted to cut the budgets of the same intelligence agencies he has criticized.
The usual partisan bickering regarding social security (scare tactics all around) and re-importation of drugs (a complete joke) are quite irrelevant in this election. The point that should be on everyone's mind as they exercise their freedom to enter the polling booth tomorrow is, "Which candidate will make this country safer?" Without a doubt, that man is George W. Bush.
Daniel Bagley is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at dbagley@cavalierdaily.com.
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