Opinion: Bush costly focus on terror ignores domestic problems
Carey Purcell
- Page 1 of 1
|
The late U.S. District Judge Murray Gunfein in reviewing a government request to enjoin The New Yrok Times from the continued publication of the Pentagon Papers on"national security" grounds, observed that "The security of the Nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the values of our free institutions."
More than thirty years later, his statement is still applicable.
The security of the United States has been a hot topic during President Bush's campaign for reelection, the subject coming up every time he speaks to the American people. The president is constantly reminding the citizens of America that they are in danger. They are at war. And he is the one to keep them safe. Without his leadership, he says, another Sept. 11 will happen. But as long as he is in office, America is OK.
It would appear that the president is attempting to scare the American people into voting him back into office.
However, the president's obsession with terrorism has been a distraction in his campaign, detracting attention from domestic issues, such as jobs, health care and the economy. Bush states that a president should keep his country safe. However, he should also keep his country successful.
Bush has spent the majority of his campaign for reelection focusing on problems outside of America, instead of addressing the problems within America. During the past four years, unemployment in the country has risen to 6%. The number of people living in poverty has risen for the first time in 8 years. A budget surplus of $5.6 trillion is now a deficit of $350 billion, and 42 states are expected to make drastic Medicaid cuts, further reducing health care coverage for the poor. However, throughout his campaigning, Bush has spent little time discussing these topics. Instead, the majority of his speeches focus on terrorism.
This omission became glaringly obvious at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this past summer during speeches made by the two parties. In a graphic published by The New York Times, the vocabulary and language used by the speakers at both conventions was examined. The words were counted and represented for their use per 20,000 words spoken, approximately one day's worth of speeches. In three days at the Republican National Convention, the word "war" was used 45 times. Terrorism was mentioned 18 times, Iraq 14 times, and September 11th 15 times. The threat of international terrorism was clearly the main issue at the convention, while domestic issues were put on the back burner. During those three days of speeches, "jobs" got 13 mentions, and "Health care" 12. However, at the Democratic National Convention, where war was mentioned 35 times, terrorism nine, Iraq 12, and September 11th nine times, domestic issues received much more attention. Jobs were talked about 34 times and health care 27.
Security has to include respect for Americans' civil liberties, jobs and health coverage.
America has a history of re-electing presidents during times of war. Abraham Lincoln was voted back into office in 1864, during the Civil War. Franklin Delanor Roosevelt won a third term in 1940, during Hitler's invasion of France and other European countries. However, security from foreign enemies should not be the only concern of Americans when they decide who should lead us for the next four years. A president should focus on solving the problems within his own country before he tackles those of the rest of the world.
The administration's obsession with international threats has cost the country its economy and its civil rights. President Bush's efforts have not made us more secure....