My first Presidential election that I was eligible to vote in was in 1992. I openly supported – and campaigned for – Bill Clinton and Al Gore.
I rapidly became disillusioned with the Clinton/Gore administration – first because of their broken campaign promises in some social areas – later because of their attacks on gun owners – and much later for the ethical issues that we’ve all hashed through far too many times.
By 1996, I was a Libertarian. By the time of the 2000 election, I was voting mostly a Republican ticket, but not always.
I personally disliked both Clinton and Gore by the mid 1990’s. I didn’t like many of their policies, their choices for officeholders (though I liked Janet Reno), and certainly not their ethics. And while I said some fairly nasty things about them – and still do – there are some things that I never did:
- Called them Nazis
- Wore shirts that said “Not my President”
- Openly advocated their assassination (as the Guardian newspaper did recently in the United Kingdom)
- Walked about stating that there would be “blood in the streets” and a “revolution” if they were re-elected in 1996
Yet, today, we hear the same things from the leftists – both in their approach to the current Bush/Cheney administration – and in their speeches/writings should Bush win a second term in office.
Why is this?
Have we lost such respect for the office of President of the United States that we have to resort to such hatred in order to get our point across?
I do not support the Kerry/Edwards ticket and have stated so repeatedly. In a few days, they may win this election. So be it. We ran the good race and lost. The world isn’t going to end, and I can live with this.
If Kerry becomes President and visits my town, I would try to see him, just as if a Republican were in office. I’d stand when he entered the room, I would defer and show him respect, and refer to him as “Mr. President”. See, he’s earned that respect because he was elected by my fellow citizens. I may not like him personally, but I respect the office.
The left doesn’t feel the same. And we’ll see that demonstrated if Bush is re-elected.
