The Voice of Reason

In his election campaigns, Bush made just as much of an appeal to emotion as Barack Obama has done. Both men are Harvard educated, but Bush's language isn't as eloquent as Obama's. Countries DO need leaders who are articulate and eloquent. People need leadership through reason as well as through inspiration. Both are required to lead.

Whether Bush is actually born again or not is a different matter. Like any politician wanting to get elected, he appealed to that group which would likely give him the most votes and get him elected, just as Obama is going to do. What politician wouldn't?

In his election campaigns, Bush spoke about just as many platitudes as Obama does. Even when Bush was specific, the question, as has always been the question in campaigns when the issue of what programs he (or she) is going to offer arises is...How is this person going to pay for it? Payment for programs will come one of two ways: make businesses pay for it or make the taxpayers pay for it. Either you scalp businesses or you scalp taxpayers. Tax cuts are a loss of revenue to the government and are passing the buck on to somebody else.

Even Republicans sin with the issue of taxes. If Republican legislators really want to make a difference, they should push to pass legislation which abolishes the income tax. But of course that would wipe out their fatcat paychecks (along with the paychecks and perks of the Democrats), and abolishing income tax would potentially defund their contituents' programs. It'll never happen. The only way abolishing income tax would happen is if there is a WILL to make it happen above and beyond screaming constituents, special interests, etc.

The government probably doesn't have enough money to fix potholes because of what it's spending on the Iraq war; although potholes are often the job of the local municipality or state in which we reside. The larger issue is that the people have no way to tell HOW and on WHAT the government is spending its money. If we received a balance sheet and income statement every year, then we could more fully hold our government accountable as to what it spends.

I get the sense with right wing people that they believe they are right and the liberals are wrong. Likewise liberals believe the same about the right. I suggest the healthier approach is to acknowledge both have flaws and find one thing both can agree on.

The question of how to pay for things without income tax is for a separate posting entirely.