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Swing state
: A week or two ago, I reported that I saw few campaign signs in my neck of the woods and fewer Kerry signs. That is changing. Maybe New Jersey is a swing state afterall. Mind you, to see anything Democratic in my county is cause for calling the cops in: clearly outsiders, you know. But Kerry signs are popping up next door to Bush signs and this morning, I found this big sign put up by a neighbor.
So we know how the parents feel. I wonder if this is how their son feels. It doesn’t jive with those I know who are serving, but their parents may feel differently.
Well, it does jive with someone I know who served. Which just goes to show you how anecdotal evidence is a worthless position on which to base arguments.
The word is “jibe.” (Scroll down to the second definition.)
Well, you ought to take a short drive over to Stirling, head down Valley and take left at the light onto Morristown Road. After the tracks on the left a homeowner has painted his fence white so that he could paint “GOD BLESS GEORGE BUSH” on it.
Democratic signs in New Jersey is no evidence of it being a swing state. All the George Bush signs are. Even in predominately republican areas like our neighborhoods.
Quinnipiac has NJ even, which I find hard to believe.
I’m new to the neighborhood but I expected a stronger KE presence despite the affluence of the area; everybody hates Bush, right?
Not me, I voted for Nader last time and have never voted republican in my life (I have a pic of me and Al Gore with “Boot Newt” buttons on when I campaigned for Clinton-Gore in GA) but I am absolutely voting for Bush this year – and I think I’m a 9/11 republican now.
The point is, beyond all the hatred heaped on Bush, beyond a ridiculously partisan press, I was supposed to be at the WTC on 9/11. Many families around here lost loved ones. My wife is a doctor and she lost patients. I am not ashamed to admit that I was afraid in the days after 9/11 – and I am also not ashamed to admit that George W. Bush calmed those fears.
I remember clearly, the president with tears in his eyes say “I’m a loving guy – but I’ve got a job to do.” And those eyes transmitted strength and resolve and that made me feel better.
And then he went out and acted.
He showed his resolve, America needs to show the world IT’S resolve. And this president deserves my loyalty – and he has it.
“And then he went out and acted”
You’re kidding, right?
To me the best way to judge someone’s resolve is how they react to high-pressure situations. When there’s no time for planning or speaking with advisors, when instinct kicks in, THAT’S how to judge a leader.
Watch the tape, watch the eyes.. watch CLOSELY. After his advisor whispered in his ear that the WTC was burning, Bush’s eyes spoke VOLUMES. He had NO IDEA what to do. And he sat there… 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes… WATCH THE EYES… he has no idea what to do. 4 minutes… 5 minutes… 6 minutes…
At the very least Kerry has been in combat situations. Bullets have been fired in his direction. The extent of the real action Kerry saw has been debated. But in a high pressure situation HE’S the one I want on my team.
‘A Real Warrior’.
Oh, yeah.
Frank:
So what did you do when you heard? Or saw? Jump right up and run out to your friendly neighborhood SAM battery? I know what I did, stared slack-jawed at the TV. It’s called shock, Frank. The man needed a couple of minutes to process and get over the “Well, what the f*ck am I going to do now?” moment.
Rich:
Sorry, the commander-in-chief, the leader of the most important army in the world is not afforded the luxury of standing slack-jawed at news like that. You are and I am, because we’re civilians. But if you’re going to step to the plate and take the reins of the US military, you must work better than that under pressure.
Maltese – Bush has never been in combat. In fact he shirked and faked his way out of the military. Kerry has been shot at, and has killed an enemy. These are facts and they are not disputed.
Keith and Rich – chances are that, if any of us emails one of the others, a genuine human will respond … and if any of us tries to email frank, we’ll get a message that there’s no such email address – or a real human will reply that he has no clue what we are talking about …
Go through the responses in comments on political blogs … most of those who support President Bush tend to be *real* … most of those who are against President Bush tend to be fake or at best unwilling to use their own real email address … there are exceptions on each side, but the rule of thumb is interestingly accurate …
Me – I’ll take the words of someone serving over the words of someone who served, *any* day … (entries 1 and 2, above) …
Keith,
I appreciate your sentiments. I’ve voted Democrat my whole life, never more.
George W. Bush has earned my trust, the current Democratic leadership my scorn.
I will never again look at the work of journalists without questioning what their agenda is, and will be looking for new ways to eliminate the “middle man”.
Use my real email address? Are you daft? As it is I get (no exaggeration) over 350 spam messages per day. That’s more than enough for me, thank you very much.
“Go through the responses in comments on political blogs … most of those who support President Bush tend to be *real* … most of those who are against President Bush tend to be fake or at best unwilling to use their own real email address … there are exceptions on each side, but the rule of thumb is interestingly accurate …”
You got to be kidding me. I hate these stupid f’ing kind of statements. “most of…” or “all dems…” unbelievable.
Here’s what the president thinks of those types of generalizations:
http://static.vidvote.com/movies/bushuncensored.mov
Well, here’s the thing – have ANY of you personally heard of any republicans who voted for Bush last time who have changed their minds and are now going to support Kerry? Aside from “journalistic” reports, that is. (Frank, don’t even bother because you’ll obviously say whatever it is that you think Michael Moore would want you to say.)
I don’t know any, but I know MANY who voted for Gore or Nader last time who are voting Bush this time – and I know many more (in NJ) who are lifelong democrats who can’t bring themselves to vote for Bush and who are so disgusted by Kerry and this campaign that they just are going to refuse to vote.
That’s big.
Hey Frank do you work for Michael Moore? Or do you just follow him blindly?
I doubt Frank has had an original thought in a long time. Someone comes on here with a personal experience and you just spew out some DNC and/or Moore talking points. You’re a good follower.
And way to link to something from the 90’s, go it from Drudge I imagine. I bet that video makes more people vote for Bush, because they will see him as a regular guy. Unlike Kerry who will only curse if the line has passed his focus group.
“but I know MANY who voted for Gore or Nader last time who are voting Bush this time….That’s big”
No Keith, that’s just anecdotal…a story. Again, these kind of arguments are more flimsy than a straw man.
Hey don’t blame Michael Moore, he wasn’t the one filming the President frozen like a deer in headlights.
Look, here’s the point I was trying to make about that film clip:
It was one of the VERY few times we ever get to see the President “unplugged.” That is, reacting to a high stress situation on the spot. No speech written by a White House expert… no scripted response… no meeting with his staff to prepare him. And in my opinion it was very telling. The fact that Moore put it in his movie is irrelevant; I had seen it someplace else long before that.
If it had been Kerry in that classroom that day, who knows if he would have done anything differently. Maybe he would hid under one of the student’s desks. But I think that his having been in combat situations makes him better prepared to think on his feet. And the ability to think on one’s feet is a good quality of a leader IMHO.
Michael – You’re going to discount something just because it is a personal experience? Politics is personal experience.
I was asking about others experiences, but perhaps I should just read about some other individual’s experience in an AP article and take that to heart- it must have more validity than my own.
“And then he went out and acted”
Meanwhile, thousands of illegal aliens stream across our borders each day.
The DHS has a 15-page internal report on a Central American gang and terrorists possibly collaborating. That gang has a foothold in America.
The gang and the terrorists might collaborate to bring terrorists and weapons across our borders.
You know, the borders over which thousands of illegal aliens stream each day.
George Bush says he’s keeping you safe, but what he’s actually doing shows otherwise.
I would welcome anyone to explain exactly how they can reconcile Bush’s failure to provide border security with their belief that he’s keeping them safe.
“If it had been Kerry in that classroom that day, who knows if he would have done anything differently. Maybe he would hid under one of the student’s desks. But I think that his having been in combat situations makes him better prepared to think on his feet. And the ability to think on one’s feet is a good quality of a leader IMHO.”
Kerry has said himself he was in DC on 9-11 and sat at his desk for 40 minutes in shock.
Bush was sitting there because his Secret Service people said to sit tight while they worked out an alternate route to the airport. When there is a terrorist attack on the country you do what your SS tells you to do.
Bush flew fighter planes in the TANG, and racked up more hours than the whole time Kerry was in Nam. You think his reflexes aren’t as good?
“I wonder if this is how their son feels. It doesn’t jive with those I know who are serving, but their parents may feel differently.”
Knowing that the military are polling 4 to 1 in favor of Bush, that was my first thought on seeing that sign.
“Knowing that the military are polling 4 to 1 in favor of Bush”
Where is this poll? Is this active miliary, or veterans? Military in Iraq, or in Michigan?
My brother a Navy Reservist is heading to Iraq in January. Personally I am hoping for a Bush victory. My thought is, a Kerry victory may make the terrorists think we are ready to run. Hence they may step up the attacks after Kerry takes office to get us to leave. Which would leave my brother vunerable.
He will be doing Customs work. Which is not what he was trained in the Navy to do. And will be taking over for some Air Force peeps.
Who Does Bush Need ??
Well apparently only Republicans. I believe its been mentioned a few times in the past that his rallies are screened. Well, how many of you, independents and undecided folks, have ever been allowed in? Which begs the question, why in God name should we give our vote to George, the one who needs to have his rallies in sterile conditions, who is afraid to be booed or criticizes. He should be ousted just for his environment issues. With four hurricanes and one mountain on the cusp of possible eruption, I think even mother nature has had enough. As far as jobs are concerned, how many of you remember Ross Perot who I believe said that if Nafta was ratified, you would hear a big sucking sound of jobs leaving this country. Well, its
Yehudit:
True, Bush logged a lot of time on test flights. But he’s never been in a combat situation. He blew off his required physical. He bamboozled his way out of the services early. This isn’t political spin, these are facts.
Kerry has had bullets fired at him, and has killed an enemy combatant who would gladly have killed him first.
Comparing the service records of the two candidates is a no-brainer.
That sign to me is hypocritical. Unless they were Reps and hated Clinton, there was no real warriors in the White House for 8 years – Clinton was able to get out of service in Nam thanks to a Rhodes scholarship.
And who said that because you worked in the military – especially in nam, – makes you a better leader?
Rachel – how is the sign hypocritical? why must they be Reps in order for the sign to make sense? They’re not saying we “once again” need a warrior in the WH. Simply not following your logic here.
And I’m not sure that Clinton’s avoidance of Vietnam due to earning a Rhodes scholarship is equivalent to Bush’s avoidance by joining the Air Nat’l Guard. Apples and oranges.
Frank – as I recall from Larry King Live when Kerry was a guest after 9/11 he said he “just sat there stunned” for 45 minutes.
Oh yeah, Kerry was at the ready…
Michael – the poll was in the Stars & Stripes and the original poll was in the US Army paper.
I find it strange that people think you can be stupid and be a pilot. I guess it’s just like driving a car?
Let’s see….excellent military leaders and lousy Presidents – Pres Grant immediately comes to mind.
“Pres Grant immediately comes to mind.”
135 years ago – good example.
Frank, hang in there.
My friends in the military, although forbidden by law to take a political stance, hate the situation we’re in and want this country to behave responsibly again. They also don’t want to be interlopers in a country that doesn’t want them, and that has great resources we are involved in exploiting while ignoring their real treasure such as time-honored artworks that cannot ever be replaced. One of them was attacked with knives on a street in Baghdad. He is not responsible for the ignorant behavior of his country, but he is forced to pay the price.
I had a wonderful visit in the areas of France that the WWII VE Day forces took and cannot tell you all how much those French people appreciate America. The problem we have with the French now is not part of our honorable history.
When we liberate, we will be appreciated. When we serve the interests of business and cynical partisanship, we are inexcusably deluded.