Trenton (NJ) Times: Kerry for president

[tomfodw]

(I tried posting this earlier. Not sure if it came through because I quoted too much. So here goes again.)

This is not a surprise and it's also not really that big a deal, considering Kerry's going to win NJ anyway. But it's my local paper (good local paper, too), so I'm pumped.

Kerry for president

Sunday, October 24, 2004

An election involving an incumbent president is necessarily a referendum on his stewardship. That's certainly true this year, as President George W. Bush runs for a second term on the record of his first. The record is unacceptable. The policies of the Bush administration have been bad for the nation, weakening national security in the name of strengthening it, and bad for ordinary Americans, who have seen the economy go sour and the environment endangered.

We believe Mr. Bush's opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry, would be better equipped by temperament, character and conviction to lead the United States out of the foreign and domestic predicaments in which it finds itself. The senator is a thoughtful man of proven courage, patriotism and ability to lead. We recommend his election.

When Mr. Bush campaigned in 2000, he pledged to be "a uniter, not a divider." Yet, since winning election by the narrowest Electoral College margin in modern times while losing the popular vote, he has presided over a public that is increasingly polarized and far too ready to demonize those holding opposing views. Much of the blame for the bitter political climate that has swept across America has to be laid at his doorstep. It didn't begin that way. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush was in fact a uniter, speaking words of comfort and inspiring and reflecting America's resolve to defend itself. His decision to send U.S. forces into Afghanistan to unseat the despots who had sheltered al-Qaida was the right one, and the military campaign initially was adequately manned, planned, fought - and supported internationally.

:::snip:::

President Bush has shown in ways big and small that his judgment and instincts are flawed. There's no reason to think these would improve if he won another four-year term in the White House. It's time for America to change leaders and change direction.

Copyright 2004 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.