"Two Visions of America"
Good editorial piece from David Broder of the Washington Post---some reflections in light of Bush's recent State of the Union address.
Excerpt:
The difference between the perspective of President Bush and that of the Democrats seeking to replace him has never been plainer than it was on Tuesday night after he delivered his State of the Union address. ...
Bush believes he deserves reelection ... because ... he has averted another terrorist attack on this country for 28 months and has signaled nations around the world ... that he will take the offensive against security threats. ...
The leading Democratic candidates ... believe Bush deserves defeat, not because they differ with his handling of postwar Iraq but because ... his domestic policies have separated America into two nations. ...
A dispassionate observer could well argue ... both ... that America is a nation at war but also a country facing growing inequality and lagging in its obligations to children, displaced workers and the needy.
But when budgets are passed, even with deficits of the size politicians of both parties seem heedlessly willing to entertain, priorities must be set. And that is where the two parties fundamentally diverge.
Excerpt:
The difference between the perspective of President Bush and that of the Democrats seeking to replace him has never been plainer than it was on Tuesday night after he delivered his State of the Union address. ...
Bush believes he deserves reelection ... because ... he has averted another terrorist attack on this country for 28 months and has signaled nations around the world ... that he will take the offensive against security threats. ...
The leading Democratic candidates ... believe Bush deserves defeat, not because they differ with his handling of postwar Iraq but because ... his domestic policies have separated America into two nations. ...
A dispassionate observer could well argue ... both ... that America is a nation at war but also a country facing growing inequality and lagging in its obligations to children, displaced workers and the needy.
But when budgets are passed, even with deficits of the size politicians of both parties seem heedlessly willing to entertain, priorities must be set. And that is where the two parties fundamentally diverge.
// 1/22/2004 
