Bush Wears Flip-Flops in the Political Swimming Pool

[election_2004]

The following editorial is being released in tomorrow's edition of The Flip Side, my college's alternative student-run publication. Special thanks to all the DUers to help refine my arguments, resulting in this end product:

Feel free to spread wide and far (including on listservs and email lists directed at swing states), as this editorial is directed at undecided voters:

http://www.votewithavengeance.com/articles/flipflops.html

"The upcoming race for the White House will be the most important presidential election of our lifetimes. Let’s be honest here: Election 2000 never was “the most important election of our lives,” and everyone who made that claim four years ago was just blowing smoke. For months, Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, has endured a tornado of bile from pro-Bush opponents who accuse him of “flip-flopping” on issues. But upon closer examination, the true “flip-flopper” appears to be the man sitting in the Oval Office even as I write this"...

<snip>

"Finally, there is no doubt in my mind that, if given a second term, Bush would attempt to reinstate the draft in the event that U.S. troops become spread even more sparsely than they are right now. Last November, the Defense Department’s website solicited applicants to fill local draft boards all over the country 3. The popular spin is that this request was just part of a cyclical process to renew expired appointments to draft boards leftover from the Vietnam era. The Pentagon is clearly searching for volunteers to train on local draft boards 4, yet Pentagon officials refused to comment publicly on the website solicitation 5. If this process is simply “procedural,” why has the Defense Department failed to acknowledge it? Since Bush wouldn’t have to worry about running for reelection in 2008, what makes anyone so sure he wouldn’t entertain the notion of resorting to conscription, especially if new conflicts arise with Iran or North Korea in 2005?

On issues ranging from national security to taxation to gay rights, Kerry has been far more consistent than many of his Democratic predecessors. George W. Bush, on the other hand, has been the clear “flip-flopper” when it comes to taking positions on these issues. Therefore, we should assume that Karl Rove is suffering from short term memory loss and can’t keep his boss’s political opinions in the correct file cabinets. While I despise the nature of partisan politics, the credibility here definitely comes from John Kerry."