Pre-Election

By: Unknown

Well, I suppose I should, as a conscientious Blogger, write a pro-Bush post in a desperate attempt to gain a few more voters (and I mean desperate in the way of all political things. Smith's post was desperate too), but I'd rather just point you here.

As far as Smith's accusations... well, I have to agree with him about the Patriot Act (I've said it before). It should never have passed Congress. However, I still disagree with him about this election being the difference between democracy and dictatorship.

Smith has drawn a parallel here between the Roman Republic and the American Republic (we discussed this several weeks ago). He claims Bush has sequestered more power than any other President. In fact, this may be the case. However, Roosevelt, I would wager, sequestered a larger percentage of power in his time. It is simply due to the current magnitude of power that the office of the President has gained so much.

And it is because of war and tragedy that this happens. Any person would have attempted to gain power for themselves, were they any kind of influential leader, after an event such as 9/11. The problem is that people are willing to give the office more power (it makes things simpler and more expedient). It would be no different for Gore or Kerry, just as it was no different for Julius and Augustus.

As far as the Iraq war... I highly doubt there are any swing voters relying on any opinion of the Iraq war to convince them. Besides, I feel like I've treaded this ground before, and I'd rather not rehash old battles.

~Michael Akerman