From: raju@mcs.anl.gov (Murali Raju)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton
Subject: Re: Why I won't vote for Clinton
Date: 3 Sep 92 19:16:35 GMT
Reply-To: raju@mcs.anl.gov
Distribution: na
Organization: Math & Computer Science Divison, ANL

>>>>> On Fri, 28 Aug 1992 15:31:16 GMT, joeg@meaddata.com said:

    joeg> Clinton has placed himself in to many comprimising
    joeg> positions.  Whether he inhaled or not, he tried drugs.
    joeg> Whether he dodged the draft or not, he received his notice
    joeg> and didn't comply.  I am not clear what truth lies in the
    joeg> allegations of his affairs.  I try not to let the
    joeg> allegations cloud my judgement, but given his other personal
    joeg> failures, I'm not sure what to believe.  These are the
    joeg> problems I have with the character of Bill Clinton.  Why
    joeg> should I look any farther?  He doesn't have the qualities I
    joeg> want in a leader.

    joeg> -- Joe

The questions of a person's character seem to be very important to
you, which is fine.  What criteria you choose to select the next
president is your decision.  However, if Clinton's character is such
an important matter, how about Bush's character?  Yes, Bush.

What type of character does Bush have?  I assume character encompasses
such traits as honesty, trust, courage, and morality.

Has Bush been honest with the American people?  Is going back on
campaign promises as important as raising taxes a show of honesty?
How about trying to paint your oppononent as a tax-and-spend liberal
by creating a list of "128 Tax Increases" that is blatantly false?

How about trust?  How do we trust a man that would put his political
viability before the interests of the country?  Jim Baker, by
virtually everyone's accounts, has been an excellent Secretary of
State.  Right now, with so many international crises at hand, and
America at a crucial point in many of these, how can Bush take Baker
out of his current position, in which we as a nation are clearly
benefitting, and instead force him to help Bush get re-elected?  What
is more important to him, the interests of the country, or the
interests of his own political future?

Can Bush be said to have courage?  Does he have the courage to take
his fair share of the blame for the nation's problem?  Harry Truman,
who Bush likes to compare himself with, coined the phrase "The buck
stops here."  Unfortunately, Bush doesn't believe in that.  I agree
that Congress is partly to blame, but so does the President.  Why
doesn't he have the courage to take admit that?

As to morality, all I can say is that after 12 years in visible public
office, and many years more in not-so-visible positions, I still don't
know exactly what Bush's moral convictions are.  He used to be
pro-choice, but is now adamantly pro-life.  Even as a pro-lifer, he
used to support abortions in extreme circumstances, but now has a
platfrom calling for a constitutional ban on all abortions regardless
of circumstances.  In a topic that is supposed to be a moral issue,
Bush has decided political expediency is more important.  What exactly
are his moral convictions, or beliefs?  I know that he supports
"family values," yet I don't see him manifesting that belief in calls
for things like maternal leave, child care, health care, and other
programs that would promote what he believes in.  Is this just another
issue he has taken in order to please his political constituencies?

I applaud the fact that you base your decision on aspects like
character.  I would rather you choose based on character than looks,
which is what Bush wanted women to vote on when he chose Dan Quayle as
his running mate in '88 (No kidding).  But I think that there is much
more to character than whether a person dodged the draft or not.  And
I would urge you to look at the character of both men, rather than
just the one the press always looks at.

--
Murali Raju
raju@juju.mcs.anl.gov
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, Ill, USA

(Boring disclaimer follows)
The opinions stated above are solely mine, and do not necessarily
represent the opinions of the Argonne National Lab, the University of
Chicago, the Department of Energy, or the U.S. Government.
--


--
Murali Raju
raju@juju.mcs.anl.gov
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, Ill, USA
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton