The American Spectator

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(Page 3 of 9)

Mr. Bush's poor performance on containing spending and securing the borders is not in dispute. However, the choice we voters were presented was not as clean as spend more vs. spend less, open the borders vs. close the borders. We selected the candidate who, taking all of his virtues and vices together, compared favorably to other candidates. If a process existed to survey all 300 million or so Americans and select the one who with whom we found the perfect agreement, each one of us would have received one vote -- our own.

But if the choice were presented to us again, in the primary to select either GWB or John McCain, who believes that we wouldn't still select Mr. Bush? And in the general election, if the choice again were either GWB or Al Gore, or either GWB or John Kerry, what conservative believes that either Gore or Kerry would be superior?

p>I commiserate with all fellow conservatives over the lack of a true conservative in the White House. Until I run for the office, I will always be at least a little bit dissatisfied with whoever occupies it. br> -- Jim Bono br> Midlothian, Virginia /p>

During the run-up to the 2000 elections (starting in 1999), I corresponded semi-frequently with a retired Army MSG that lived in Texas who was a definite conservative, as am I. During the primary season, neither Bush nor McCain was my preferred candidate.

When it began to look like George Bush would get the nomination, I began asking serious questions about him of my Texas co-respondent. The gentleman replied that I would NOT be happy with Bush and, in the course of half a dozen emails, listed several very troubling things regarding the Texas Gov. I had decided to stay home on election day.

Then the Dems changed my mind. In correspondence with the MSG, we both decided that Mr. Gore was too grave a mistake for this country, so we both went to the polls and pulled the lever for Bush.

May I sincerely say that every cautionary piece of information or potentially mistaken judgment of which I was warned, has come true in spades. Mr. Bush has gotten my vote twice now, but only because the Dems has put forward such uniformly horrible candidates that I felt that I had no choice.

I was extremely unhappy with the record established by Bush '41'. I "read" his lips and found out that they lied. I paid close attention when Bush '43' promised SCOTUS nominations in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas -- he also lied. The good things done by Bush '43' I can count on the fingers of one hand. The other side of the ledger has now exceeded both fingers and toes.

p>The White House grounds are now overgrown with vegetation. Please do not plant any more Bushes there. br> -- Ken Shreve

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