Health care more pressing than Hussein
I must admit I got a kick from the pictorial accompanying the feature story “Back to the Front” in the Feb. 2 edition of Newsweek magazine. Standing at lecterns, left to right, the pictorial featured presidential hopefuls Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, Al Sharpton (strategically positioned in the middle), John Kerry, John Edwards, and Joe Lieberman.
Indeed, it was a Kodak moment, if ever there was one, successfully capturing a gathering of diversified, eclectic America: the dogmatic Dean, who, some say, has a future as a Pentecostal minister after his fiery speech in Iowa; the stoic warrior Clark, who understands the consequences of war, justified or unjustified; the debonair, well-groomed, yet seemingly down-to-earth, Kerry, an ex-Navy man familiar with not only the rigors of war, but also with the rigors of political trench fighting; the soulfully rabble-rousing Sharpton, who, via a guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live” proved he learned well from his mentor, soul Godfather James Brown, and knows how to shuffle — not only with his feet but also when it comes to addressing the issue at hand; Edwards, the biggest thing going for him being that he somewhat resembles the late, greatly admired actor John Ritter (RIP); and last but not least, Lieberman whose top priority appears to be getting even with a larger portion of the Middle Eastern countries currently on the world map.
Yes, each candidate has a unique political platform from which he will campaign, and, still, each candidate will use that platform/strategy in an attempt to win voters, and, ultimately, to unseat current U.S. President George W. Bush. Also, guaranteed to be a common denominator throughout the whole shebang will be allegations President Bush misled American citizens about intelligence reports that Saddam Hussein and Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, concerning a valid reason for the U.S. to wage war with Iraq.
Quite possibly, President Bush did feel Hussein/Iraq, in fact, posed an imminent threat, and, on the flipside, a logical argument is that the Bush-led attack on Iraq was based on petroleum interest, and, further, a get back at Hussein for his alleged bounty on President George Bush Sr., back in the early ’90s.
In no way attempting to undermine the efforts necessary to maintain adequate security for American citizens and the soil on which they dwell, here is what will determine for whom exactly I, a 50-year-old male, will cast my ballot come Nov. 2004: The one who best convinces me that he will exert every effort and means to ensure that every American has sufficient health care and can count on sufficient funds being in place to afford a decent retirement when the time comes.
The possible absences of health care and Social Security are the biggest threats Americans currently face, not Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden.
(Mike Vinson is a Warren County columnist who can be reached by e-mail at vinsonmike_b_@hotmail.com.)