Neither candidate makes good president

Voting is a difficult decision this year, as it seems that there are no worthy candidates for presidency. It would be easy to vote for the most popular or the underdog, but unfortunately that doesn’t help the future of our nation.

There are many who feel that their candidate is the greatest and best for the job, but there seems to be something about each presidential nominee that just doesn’t feel right. For instance, Senator John F. Kerry would probably do a wonderful job with national policy, environmental rights, and women’s issues just by checking his voting record. But as far as the war on terror is concerned, Kerry looks like a pansy compared with the go-get-‘em attitude of President George W. Bush. Bush started this war in response to a terror attack on our homeland, and he is determined to finish it. As far as the war is concerned, Bush knows where the country stands and has been following every troop movement since we deployed to Afghanistan. Then again, the feeling of "anyone but Bush" has convinced many voters to vote for Kerry.

Kerry’s position on the war is far from clear. He has changed his position and his mind what seems like countless times. By stating that he wants to pull the troops out of Iraq, he puts forth the notion that he would not finish the war, but simply end America’s involvement, which is not necessarily the right thing to do. Once a war has been started, it should be finished, for the morale of our troops and to secure an opinion of America around the world’— that we do not back down. That is not to say we don’t make mistakes, but as a country, we must follow through with our decisions and amend them accordingly. America should not just pull out of a war without helping to rebuild the country and fix the problems the war has created. Kerry has given no indication that he has a plan to do that.

The independent candidates, while one would like to support the underdog, have close to no experience in federal government and would not likely get anything done as President simply because of opposition from both major parties and the corporations that support the government. Ralph Nader, especially, would be ineffective in office. His aggression towards corporations is understandable and makes perfect sense, but in terms of actually running a strong presidency, Nader would not be able to pass legislation or help the country because he refuses to work with companies and raise money by working with financially endowed donors, which the president must spend much of the end of his term doing, in order to be elected.

This year will be a close race for president, and a difficult vote to make. Hopefully this year the votes will be counted quickly and effectively and we will know who our leader is with no ambiguity. Good luck at the polls!