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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (534217)	2/2/2004 1:37:09 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769670

Phony 'debates' By Thomas Sowell URL:http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20040201-105106-1061r.htm The so-called "debates" among the Democratic candidates in the primaries are not really debates — and that is a real shame. In a real debate, opponents could question each other's statements — and there have been a lot of questionable statements made already in this young political season. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, for example, has included among his rhetorical flourishes poor children going to bed hungry at night in America. In reality, obesity is even more common among low-income than among high-income people. Whether Mr. Edwards doesn't know any better or doesn't care about the facts, his statements could have been challenged in a real debate — or even in a no-holds-barred press conference. But, in the fashionable format of a pseudo-debate, where "going negative" is taboo, irresponsible demagoguery not only goes unchallenged but becomes the norm. Meanwhile, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has pictured the United States as lagging among industrial nations by not having government-provided medical care for everyone. In a real debate, someone could have pointed out that we also differ considerably from those other countries in how quickly you can see a doctor and in not waiting months for surgery. We also differ in having our much-denounced pharmaceutical industry produce a wholly disproportionate amount of the world's new lifesaving medications. In a real debate, someone could point out the connection between incentives and results — and how so-called "obscene profits" are preferable to something truly obscene: needless pain and suffering and preventable deaths. When Mr. Kerry argues for a higher minimum wage, someone in a real debate could point to evidence from around the world that higher minimum wages mean higher unemployment. There is a reason why economists say there is no free lunch, even though politicians get elected promising free lunches and calling them "rights." So long as elections — whether primary or general elections — are just contests in rhetoric and personalities, the reality of what has actually happened under various plausible-sounding schemes gets lost in the shuffle. And so long as media pundits treat politics as just a contest among politicians, there is no need for them to let the voters know the facts. Perhaps the most dangerous political spin that goes unchallenged in either the candidate "debates" or the media pundit discussions is the image of Mr. Kerry as someone we could rely on when it comes to military defense, since he was a decorated war hero in Vietnam. John Kerry the war hero deserves all the credit he earned in battle. But, if he becomes a candidate for president of the United States, we will not be voting on what he was, but on what he is and has been in the decades since then. Mr. Kerry, like many other liberals in Congress, has for years voted to cut spending for the military and the intelligence agencies — even though these same liberal politicians are now loudly demanding to know why no one knew the September 11 terrorist attacks were coming. There is no free lunch when it comes to gathering intelligence around the world or defending this country. The budgets of the intelligence agencies and the military have long been a tempting target for liberal politicians trying to find money to finance giveaway programs to buy votes. But their policies have helped make America a tempting target for terrorists. The liberal organization Americans for Democratic Action has given Mr. Kerry an even higher approval rating as a liberal than they gave to Massachusetts' other senator, Ted Kennedy. It takes one to know one. If anyone knows what a liberal is, the ADA should. Yet Mr. Kerry has tried to wave aside "labels." Like every other liberal Democrat running for president since the 1960s, Mr. Kerry tries to avoid having voters recognize him as the liberal he is and has been for decades — anti-military, pro-quotas, pro-taxes, pro-illegal immigrants, and pro-teachers unions that have ruined our schools. What Mr. Kerry did more than 30 years ago is not the issue. What he has been doing since then is. Thomas Sowell is a nationally syndicated columnist.

To: calgal who wrote (534217)	2/2/2004 1:37:24 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Hopefuls gear for Hispanic Tuesday By Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Tomorrow's Democratic presidential primaries are being dubbed "Hispanic Tuesday" here in the Southwest in recognition of the large role Hispanic voters could play, for the first time, this early in a nomination contest. Arizona holds a primary and New Mexico holds caucuses, and together they constitute more delegate votes than Missouri or any of the other four states holding contests tomorrow. Most of the major candidates will campaign in Arizona today at a forum sponsored by the League of United Latin American Citizens in Phoenix. Their presence has made Hispanic Tuesday as important to tomorrow's outcome as who wins South Carolina, the first contest in the South, or Missouri, the largest state so far. "As it's turned out, all of the candidates will have gone [to Arizona or New Mexico] by February 3 and campaigned extensively within both states, but with a particular focus on the Hispanic community," said Adam Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University. Polls show Sen. John Kerry leading in both states. A Zogby/MSNBC/Reuters tracking poll gave Mr. Kerry 36 percent support in Arizona, leading Wesley Clark's 24 percent and Howard Dean's 14 percent. An Albuquerque Journal poll released yesterday showed Mr. Kerry with 31 percent support among possible New Mexico Democratic caucusgoers. Mr. Clark trailed with 15 percent support, and Mr. Dean had 14 percent. An Arizona Republic survey showed a tighter race, with Mr. Kerry at 29 percent and Mr. Clark at 20 percent. Mr. Dean trailed with 12 percent. The two states could play a major role in boosting Mr. Clark's candidacy. Along with Oklahoma, they are where he has the best shot of doing well and sparking his campaign, which came in a mediocre third in New Hampshire after skipping Iowa's caucuses. Yesterday, Mr. Clark, a retired Army general, was in Flagstaff, where he spoke more about his military service and his low military paycheck than he did when campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire. At one point, he detailed the four bullets he took in earning his Purple Heart as a captain in Vietnam. "I'm the only guy in this race who has done foreign policy — a lot of people can talk about it, but I did it," said Mr. Clark, who commanded U.S. forces in Bosnia and Kosovo. Mr. Segal said Mr. Clark's military record, and that of Mr. Kerry, who is also a Vietnam veteran, should play well among Hispanic voters. That leaves Mr. Dean, who once topped the polls in both states, playing catch-up. On Saturday, Mr. Dean was in Tucson, speaking to an almost totally white crowd of more than 1,000 at a city park. He delivered his standard stump speech, peppered with particularly harsh criticism of Mr. Kerry. Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona Democrat and a supporter of Mr. Dean, said it was a tight race among the top three. "Governor Dean has a solid base of people; we just need to make sure that base turns out," he said. "The appeal has been consistently good, and I don't think that's changed. We're fighting for the hearts and minds of the undecideds right now." Both Mr. Dean and Mr. Clark avoided talking about immigration in their speeches over the weekend. Joseph Sweeney, a Republican who has run for Congress more than a half-dozen times, was circulating through the Tucson crowd with a petition to put a measure on Arizona's ballot that would deny some state services to illegal aliens. Mr. Sweeney said even in the crowd of Dean supporters, he expected to gain about 100 signatures. Mr. Segal said Mr. Dean may have avoided the issue because he wanted to concentrate on his central campaign themes — in this case, being a Washington outsider. "There is a whole sixth months of debate that will probably occur between the Democratic nominee and President Bush over immigration reform," he said.