The Endorsement, Part III

Once more, with feeling...

Integrity, Character and Leadership

I wish this election came down to this point alone. Because in the end, I think George W. Bush destroys John Kerry in this category.

Bush has his flaws. He has an arrogant swagger to him, but it's not the arrogance that comes with inherited wealth and being born into a rich and famous family. It's an arrogance that comes with confidence, in believing in himself and believing in the things he says. He's also less adept with words than most politicians. Unlike those who are offended by this, I think Bush is damn smart, and just has trouble articulating his thoughts. I also think there's a regional or elitist bias among people who think his lack of dexterity with words is indicative of a lower I.Q.

I think the critique that Bush lied to get us into a war in Iraq is ridiculous. It doesn't come close to matching the facts in any way. He also didn't mislead us into the war -- if anything, the warnings we received about how difficult this war would be far outweigh the prepatory warnings we received before any other war America's ever entered into.

I think Bush's character is demonstrated by his personal life. He's cleaned up his problems from his youth, and he's a better man for it. I think a person's choice of spouse says a lot about the person. I don't know of one person who says a single bad word about Laura Bush.

I think Bush connects with people face-to-face very well for a simple reason -- his decency and sincerity are real. He's not a complex enough person to fake enthusiasm for people. He gets tired and shows it, which most politicians don't do. But he's essentially a good person. And it shows.

I have my doubts about John Kerry's character, to say the least. The Swift Boat saga is more telling for the simple fact that Kerry won't apologize for what he did; in fact, his half-assed semi-apologies are worse than issuing no apology at all. At least if he outright refused to apologize, we would have a man willing to stand up for his convictions. Instead, we have a man who slandered the people with whom he served for political advanatage, and now refuses to acknowledge it.

I think Bush has demonstrated leadership in his four years in office and before that as Governor of Texas. I think Kerry has been in the Senate for 20 years and exhibited little in the way of leadership. And I think Kerry lacks integrity, as demonstrated by his willingness to vote against funding the troops after voting for the Iraq War. I've said it to people at least a thousand times -- if he had reversed those two votes, it would have been defensible. What he did is indefensible, and unworthy of the highest office in the land. Let's do the right ting, and re-elect George W. Bush.

God Bless you all, and God Bless the United States of America.