Well, Ben has asked that I further explain why I voted for Kerry over Bush.  Bush has done some good, and like I said before I voted for him the first time around.  Bush is smart enough to surround himself with people smarter than him to fulfill various knowledge and experience gaps.  Bush doesn't let politics interfere with his regious beliefs (after all Kerry claims to be Catholic, but won't let his politics be influenced by those beliefs).  I'd also like to see Bush have the chance to finish his Iraqi occupation unimpeded. 

 

But what has Bush done wrong?  My federal taxes have raised every year in drastic amounts ever since he started these mythical tax cuts (I know I haven't seen a single cent of tax savings these past four years).  He took the first federal surplus in my lifetime and turned it into the worse federal deficit in my lifetime.  He's signed into law various bills which protect big business from lawsuits.  He wants to destroy Social Security as it exists instead of rolling back the age of retirement benefits as our lifespans get longer.  He wants to protect businesses from having to offer basic benefits such as medical issurance and shift the burden on the consumer.  Will businesses offer their employees another form of compensation for their work?  Almost certainly not, and those that do will almost certainly not give an equal amount of compensation.  So, as people have lost jobs, had their pay dropped or frozen, and/or had extra duties pilled on them without additional compensation he wants to reduce the compensation and increase the cost of living.  He promised to work with President Fox on the illegal immigration issue and has basically failed to do much more than lip service since 11-09 (Patriot Day).  What about these moral issues? 

 

Bush has said that he has no doubts about his War on Terrorism.  So, of course I'd like to see how it plays out.  In fact, I'd have voted for Bush if I thought Kerry would be a viable candidate in four years.  Kerry, as a Vietnam Conflict veteran who protested the Vietnam Conflict, promised to have a more restrained view on how to conduct the War on Terrorism--one more in line with my moderate view point.  After all, despite where Afganistan, Iraq, and Palestine are in four years, I expect the War on Terrorism to still be going strong. 

 

Finally, despite Kerry's decision to let his politics be run by advisor who discouraged him from showing much in the way of emotion or faith, he himself has often seen multiple sides to an issue.  In fact, he'll often discuss the various sides of an issue to the point of confusion to lesser people.  I like someone who can do that, something Bush hasn't shown a capacity for.  Bush's big thing is his ability to connect with individuals, something Kerry hasn't shown a capacity for. 

 

So, like I said, I'm not offended Bush won, however, he didn't earn my vote.  Clear enough?  If not, feel free to ask more specific questions.