Wow, Louisville!How about the Chicago Sun- Times?
Bush the antidote to our long malaise
October 29, 2000
The longest-running economic juggernaut in history should favor the Democrats. But most Americans rightly believe prosperity is the work of market forces, not government. Bill Clinton deserves credit for staying out of the way, leaving economic fine-tuning in the hands of the Federal Reserve. This is largely the course Bush would steer, making him the natural inheritor of Clinton's centrist policy. Gore promised to enact new government programs and fight evil forces he associated with big corporations. Those close to him winked, suggesting Gore was talking for political effect. But we must take him at his word that he favors an activist Washington.
The centerpiece of Bush's platform is across-the-board tax cuts. His opponent argues cuts would threaten the surplus and overheat the economy. But there are troubling economic signs: a volatile stock market has trended lower, the technology industry has seen what some call a dot-com crash and the government reports signs of slowing growth. A broad tax cut might offer a needed stimulus. Gore proposes targeted tax cuts; i.e., using taxes for social engineering.
Bush is willing to abandon old ways of thinking. For years, Social Security was the third rail of politics--deadly to touch. But with the program running out of steam, Bush boldly proposed giving younger Americans the choice of investing a small portion of their payroll taxes while using the surplus to protect benefits for the elderly. Since World War II, arms control has been measured by how many weapons the other side has; Bush judges that our defense needs should dictate the size of our arsenal. That kind of thinking is evident throughout Bush's agenda. (This week other editorials will examine how the issues brought us to support Bush.) What about the character issue? Gore neutralized the Clinton issue with his historic selection of Joe Lieberman, a man of integrity and an early critic of Clinton's sins. Still, it's hard not to be uncomfortable with Gore's excuses and alibis in the campaign finance scandals. And it's disappointing to hear him evoke the politics of envy, trash hardworking entrepreneurs as the undeserving wealthy and lash out at business. Bush reaches out. He proved he could work with Democrats in Texas. Though he had no hope of winning its endorsement, he went to the NAACP. He has a record of winning Latino support. A unifying force is badly needed in Washington after eight years of acrimony and distrust. We were treated to another example last week. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert pushed through a bill to increase the minimum wage, provide tax incentives for investment in poor areas, fund school construction and fix a Medicaid problem threatening to deny $500 million to Illinois. Clinton once signaled that the bill was acceptable but at the last minute he rejected it for political purposes. Throughout the campaign, Bush has sounded a conciliatory tone, avoiding the ugly culture wars of recent years and promising to work across party lines for unity. His election would mean a clean slate in Washington.
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