The Quadrangle

Issue date: 11/17/04 Section: Features

Most students at Manhattan College probably can't recall any of the campaigns that have occurred in their lives, since many of them were too young to vote in the last election. But it seems to many that this Presidential campaign has been the nastiest ever in American history. What a way to be welcomed to the voters' booth. This campaign has certainly received a lot of press and rightfully so. The man who becomes the next president has more power over our lives than any president has before. There are the whispers of the draft, which Bush repeatedly denies. However, most people have taken to ignoring his attempts of brushing aside the matter, knowing fully that our army is spread dangerously thin, so thin that soldiers who have completed their duty are being called back into action. What other option is there but to have a draft? This campaign has primarily been an attack led by George W. Bush (or rather, the people controlling him) who has attempted to portray the contender, John Kerry, who served as an excellent combatant in the Vietnam War and the efforts to end the war, as a coward and a traitor. This all began on Tuesday, November 7, 2000, when one hundred and five million Americans went to the voter booths and by one of the smallest margins ever, voted to make Al Gore their president. Due to the way the votes were distributed, however, the Electoral College turned on the outcome of Florida. Bush had a lead of approximately 500 votes, one-one thousandth of Gore's national margin. In addition, votes were taken away from Gore, due to the fact that Bush's brother, the governor, had complete control over Florida's electoral machinery, and one of Bush's state campaign co-chairs was the secretary of state. Bush then sued to make sure there would be no more recounting of votes, and so, on Tuesday, December 12th, the United States Supreme Court gave Bush the best gift he had ever received: the presidency of the United States. This entire election was poorly reasoned and eventually brushed under the rug, in that the five justices who endorsed the decision refused to put their names on it. There are rules for settling disputes such as this, both in federal and state law, as well as the Constitution itself. In effect, by ignoring them, by cutting off the process prematurely and installing Bush, the Court made a mockery of what we call a "democracy". The first thing Bush did upon entering the White House was to bring forth a program of tax reductions that overwhelmingly favor the rich (the top 1% of America, to be precise.) In addition, he weakened environmental protection and cut off funds for international family-planning efforts. Slowly but surely, the President's political fortunes declined. And then came the blackest day in our short lives. September 11, 2001, thousands dead, murdered by one group of religious radicals. It did bring one positive gift, however. It brought together the United States and the world, which made us seem almost invincible. There was a fantastic surge of unity, both global and national, which provided Bush with an ample opportunity to create a government of national agreement. Those red neck republicans and the bleeding heart liberals put aside their differences and waved their flags together. After all, we are Americans. Bush seemed to spit at the national unity that was happening before his very eyes, and he concerned himself the political capital handed to him by the Bin Laden's. A year after 9/11, he recaptured control of the Senate by portraying Democrats and anyone who opposed his way of thinking as friends of terrorism. "You're either with us or against us," he said, shattering any global support we might have received. The Bush Administration's record up until that point in carrying out its policies and implementing its intentions had been one of failure, arrogance and complete incompetence. In January of 2001, right after Bush's inauguration, the Congressional Budget Office published its budget outlook for the upcoming decade. They predicted a surplus of more than $5 trillion. Speculative talk about what to do with the anticipated surplus buzzed around. This now seems like ancient history, as last year's federal deficit was $375 billion, and this year's deficit is an astonishing $400 billion. During the period of 2005 to 2014, it is estimated that we will be under $4.5 trillion. Bush claims that his tax cuts lifted the economy before and after 9/11. It is true that even poorly designed tax cuts (such as Bush's) can give the economy a temporary jolt. However, this does not make them a wise policy. "Most of the tax cuts went to low-and middle-income families," Bush said in the third debate with Kerry. This is a lie. The Citizens for Tax Justice, a Washington research group, note that this year, a typical person in the lowest fifth of income receives a tax cut of $91, a typical person in the middle fifth will get $863, and a typical person in the top 1% will college $59,292. Bush will most likely become the first chief executive since Hoover to preside over a net loss of American jobs. Bush brought forward his approach to the environment when he pledged to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions, the primary cause of global warming. Currently, he is being directed by the industries directly affected, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, which proposed to bring a key element to the Clean Air Act known as "new source review". This requires power-plant operators to install modern pollution controls while upgrading the old facilities. This change had been recommended by some of the nation's largest polluters, such as the Energy Task Force, which was chaired by Vice President Cheney. During the second debate, Bush said, "I guess you'd say I'm a good steward of the land", yet another blatant lie. He has been unable to convince the Senate to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wi

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