The Case For George W. Bush

LetÕs start with the bad news. George Bush is not the most eloquent president in the history of the United States. HeÕs not the best-read either. Like most of us, heÕs riddled with flaws and imperfections. And heÕs made some mistakes as president. ThatÕs not unique either.

The case for George Bush is not that he never does anything wrong. The case for George W. Bush is that he has again and again got the big things right.

On 9/11, the United States was hit hard and treacherously by an invisible enemy. In the hours afterward, many people around the world worried that the US would blindly lash out.

In those dangerous hours, President Bush calmed and reassured a shattered country.

He visited a mosque and urged Americans to respect Muslim citizens - and in all the United States there were only three fatal hate crimes after 9/11.

The President ordered up a war plan for Afghanistan that put humanitarian concerns in first place. Maybe you remember that some antiwar activists claimed that plans were being drawn up that "took for granted" the deaths of millions of Afghans? In fact, with famine already looming under the Taliban, it was President BushÕs carefully planned military campaign that saved the lives of millions of Afghans. In mid-October Afghans, men and women, went peacefully to vote in the first free elections in that nationÕs 5000 year history.

After 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, many people expected more and more mass terrorist attacks in the United States. It has not happened. Maybe thatÕs luck. But credit also has to go to President BushÕs Patriot Act. Before 9/11, the FBI could not even bookmark the website of a radical Islamic group unless it was investigating a crime that had already been committed. Some people worry that the Patriot Act could threaten civil liberties. President Bush worried about it too. So he ensured that most of the Patriot Act would expire in 2005 - after the election - to give Congress time to reconsider and to correct any abuses or excesses.

Iraq is a controversial subject. HereÕs something to keep in mind. After the Israelis destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, Saddam went back to building a nuclear bomb. By 1990, he was maybe a year away from finishing when he invaded Kuwait. You donÕt lose knowledge like that. Sanctions and inspections could delay the danger. They could not end it. Learning from 9/11, President Bush took action before it was too late.

Iraq has been tough, much tougher than the administration expected. But isnÕt the world safer with a US administration that is willing to take on the tough missions as well as the easy ones?

Especially since there are so many tough missions ahead, like Iran and North Korea.

Those of us around the world who support President Bush support him because we trust him not to accept the unacceptable.

ThatÕs true inside the United States as well.

President Bush is not an ideological conservative in the tradition of Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich. But he has been willing to demand common-sense answers to long-ignored American problems: schools that donÕt teach; a health care system that spends too much on malpractice lawsuits; a Social Security pension program that will run out of money before even half the baby boomers have retired; taxes that slow economic growth.

Not everybody shares BushÕs deep moral values on issues like using human embryos for medical research. But even those who disagree should appreciate that Bush has taken huge political risks to stand up for what he believes right.

For non-Americans, George Bush sometimes seems an exotic character. He doesnÕt speak French or Spanish - and he sometimes leaves you wondering whether he even speaks English.

Yet heÕs a president who cares about AmericaÕs neighbors. HeÕs worked hard to support Vicente Fox, MexicoÕs first fully democratically elected president. And heÕs been a good president for Canada. He didnÕt react when he was mocked or insulted by officials of the Canadian government. His administration has worked to speed trade and lawful traffic across the US-Canadian border: Whether you measure it in dollars or border crossings, 2004 will be a record-breaking year for US-Canadian trade.

Canadians tend to prefer Democratic presidents, and if the polls are right, that preference still holds in 2004. But if those same polls are right, Americans by a narrow margin will make a different choice.

If so, Canadians will be challenged to understand that choice.

Many Canadians may find that difficult. Despite everything thatÕs happened since 9/11, Canadians still feel safe in this dangerous world. ItÕs hard to put yourselves into the heads of people who have suffered and grieved when you have not. But suffering and grief are part of reality too. The candidate who best shows he understands that truth is the candidate to whom Americans will entrust the presidency: George W. Bush.