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Three Debates, Three Al Gores? By Dorothy Anne Seese [email protected] Third debate, and I
have seen three versions of Al Gore, one of George W. Bush. However,
the real Al Gore always manages to stand up somewhere along the way,
all you have to do is listen. I
heard Gore attack Bush for not being able to spend a trillion dollars
in two places, but this same Al Gore said he wants universal
healthcare and enumerated various other federal programs he would fund
and at the same time he would reduce the size of government. Gee
Dubya is nicer than I am, because I would really have been on the
attack there! While Gore presented
the most personable of his multiple personalities in this debate, the
real Al Gore comes through and it's always "in your face"
and pushy. It's always big government and big spending even though he
denies it vehemently. He
managed to duck his real stand on gun control by appealing again to
the hunters, sportsmen and rifle owners. Does
this mean all handguns will be outlawed? Dubya
didn't ask but I would have. There's no question
in my mind that George W. Bush did not have the best of his debate
nights. Some political analysts were questioning whether he isn't
comfortable with the "town hall" style, but it was noted he
generally does well in that forum. The
question is why he came off as likeable as ever, but a bit fuzzy in
his responses. Perhaps,
like many of us, he is just sick of it all, sick of disputing with
Gore and wants to get on with the stumping. As far as where the
candidates stand, it was peat and repeat of the same stuff we've been
hearing all along. When you have a platform, what new and surprising things
should we expect? Al Gore
is part of the administration that inherited the best economy we've
seen, but he and Clinton did not create it. The
foundation was laid under Reagan's administration, which was duly
noted at one point. Perhaps the American
people will realize that as much as voting for the man for the office,
they are voting for the future of America, one that will either go
plummeting into socialism under Gore or take the turn back toward more
individual and local responsibility under Bush. This election, as I
see it, is more about the philosophy of America and American life than
any other single factor. We
have been proud of being a free people, and that freedom would be
eroded greatly under Gore's philosophy of government controls. In the area of
education and violence among youths, the "pop culture" came
up. Who allowed this pop
culture to take this kind of control? The
people who depend on government to be their nannies and surrogate
parents, and a government that takes over jobs that are inherently
family responsibilities. Big government is controlling government, but what it controls
and limits are our freedoms and our personal accountability. That
breeds a culture of irresponsible twits. The choices were
probably clearer in the vice-presidential debates than anywhere. The
exchanges in the veep debates were more focused and direct about the
gut issues than the presidential debates in many ways and the
differences were much clearer as to defense, spending and philosophy
of government. Maybe it boils down
to just that: if you want to know who the candidates are and what they stand
for, look at the vice-presidential candidates. Debate-savvy is a
heck of a way to choose a president when the fundamentals of this
nation are at stake, and the next president will choose Supreme Court
justices who will either uphold the Constitution or continue to
rewrite it by judicial decisions. Bad night or not,
George W. Bush still represents what most Americans do or should
believe in and that's the free nation rather than the welfare state. Negative
pop cultures arise in the slime of moral decay and personal
irresponsibility. Let's ask a question: are we better off morally than we were eight years ago? Comment on the latest column by Dorothy Anne Seese © Dorothy Anne Seese, 2000
View expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Political USA.
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