Jewish World Review Nov. 1, 2004 / 17 Mar-Cheshvan, 5765
Tucker Carlson
America's Big Winner
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
On Tuesday, there will be some Democrats who go to the polls to vote for John Kerry. But there will certainly be far more who show up to vote against George W. Bush. A lot of Democrats don't just disagree with Bush. They hate him, personally and passionately.
It's worth considering why. On most issues, Bush is more a moderate than a right-wing radical. On domestic policy, he is far less conservative than Ronald Reagan was. And yet nowadays even liberals seem to admire Reagan. What's the difference? Reagan won big. After the 1984 election, you could still dislike Reagan. But you couldn't deny his legitimacy as president. He'd won everywhere but Minnesota and Washington, DC. His mandate was obvious.
That hasn't happened in a long time. Not since 1988 has a president won the majority of the popular vote. Twelve years ago, Clinton's opponents asked how a man with only 43 percent of the vote could call himself their president. Bush's enemies have never stopped wondering the same thing.
The result has been bad for America. Even if you disagree with the winner of a presidential election, there shouldn't be any question that he really is the winner.
This Tuesday, I'm not voting for John Kerry. I don't want him to be president. But I'd rather see Kerry in the White House than live through another disputed election. So let's hope that if Kerry wins, he wins big. America could use a landslide.
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JWR contributor Tucker Carlson is a journalist, college instructor, public speaker and host and managing editor of the PBS show "Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered." His first book is "Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News."(Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.
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08/16/04: Heterosexuality as a political ploy
© 2004, Tucker Carlson
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