My Opinion Page
This month's topic: George W. Bush (gulp!)...Our Next President
We Could've Done Worse, However...
Well all the dust has settled and G.W. will be our new POTUS. Although I doubt it, I do hope that G.W. can unite us as a country. I think this past election demonstrated how deeply divided we are as a nation about the direction of the country. We desperately need someone who is willing to go beyond popular rhetoric (Both of the major parties are guilty of this) of "reaching out to the other side" and move to more substantive conciliatory efforts.
We need someone who is willing to stand firm on their beliefs yet not appeal to extreme political beliefs. G.W. will have a difficult job of balancing the need for centrist views versus the need to appease conservative voters who overwhelmingly supported his candidacy.
On the diversity front, we need a President whose advisers and appointments reflect the makeup of America. G.W. needs to make a concerted effort to reach out to marginalized groups in America, mainly people of color, women, religious minorities, and working-class citizens of all races and ethnicities. As much as I criticize G.W., I am holding out judgemement on his cabinet appointments. Although some may think that his attempts to diversify his cabinet smacks of tokenism, it could be worse if minorities were not given a chance at all in the Bush cabinet (unless of course they turn out like Clarence Thomas). My advice is to hold off judgement until you can evaluate how well they do.
On the fiscal front, I hope that G.W. breaks away from what has been a popular trend of paying for tax cuts...mortaging our future. Already those of us in Generation X are dreading having to pay the Baby Boomers' Social Security bill. And we realize that there is no way that social security will last to benefit us unless the sysytem is overhauled soon. The last thing we need is more debt.
Unfortunately, G.W. has already promised big tax cuts for the wealthy. Simple fact is , although our budget is very complex, it is just like any other budget...if you take money out, something has to go...and if you want something, you've got to find some way to pay for it (which normally means paying for it with taxes). Should G.W.'s tax cuts go through, say goodbye to increases in educational funding, AIDS and HIV research, minority recruitment grants, and other federal funding of worthwhile social programs.
One day we will all realize that there is no use in having your tax dollars back if social problems plague you. I'm not an advocate of uncontrolled social spending, but we need a President who recognizes the worth of ridding us of real social problems like AIDS rather than attacking purple teletubbies and the latest Quentin Tarantino film.
Some might describe this diatribe as "scathing" but I actually hope that G.W. proves me wrong because our divided country can ill-afford to continue to live in many seperate idealogical worlds.
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