The Wright Words: Albatross for Republicans

The 2004 presidential election is a year and a half away and already there are cheap shots being fired at potential candidates in the Democratic Party. Overzealous conservatives are busy telling those who will listen that the party is in disarray and in a desperate mode. A member of the far right, Michael Reagan, recently wrote that Democrats “peddle fear instead of policy, slander instead of decent political discourse, appeasement instead of courage, etc.” This line of bull just illustrates the paranoia that exists within the conservative ranks. They are scared to death what happened in 1992 to the first President Bush will be repeated in 2004 with Bush, Jr. Adding to this is the fact Mr. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000, not exactly a ringing endorsement for the next election. The scenario is eerily similar to the one in ‘92 when Bill Clinton was elected. There was a Gulf War and afterwards the economy was in shambles. The Democrats certainly have several issues they can hammer away on during the months preceding the November, 2004 vote. With a massive national debt, high unemployment, an unstable stock market, and outrageous defense spending plaguing our country, I am confident the Democratic Party can produce a viable opponent, one who will use these issues to his or her advantage. Another problem for the GOP is the albatross known as Iraq. Our military forces freed their people from their brutal leader, but now they want us out. The longer our occupation lasts, the more hostile and dangerous it will get for our troops. Establishing a stable government in Iraq is a daunting, if not impossible task. There are too many differing religious factions involved to create a form of democracy. The arrogance of the Bush administration will eventually be the downfall of the president, as they doggedly pursue the enforcement of a US approved version of government on an unwilling nation.