Endorsement

I'm not a celebrity. Shocking, I know. I'm not a World Series pitcher or a future-Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Famer. I'm not an award-winning actor or a country-music star.

I am Everyman. I am No-man.

So my election endorsement means little in the grand scheme. I understand that. But I'm throwing it out there anyway.

It will come as little surprise to you. I haven't been clandestine with my opinions, with my leanings. With my criticisms or complaints. I'm a pretty up-front guy, politically.

But I think it needs to be officially stated, as plainly and clearly as I can state it. The capstone on my campaign-related blogging.

I am hereby declaring Perfect Blue Buildings's official endorsement of President George W. Bush.

I am officially endorsing Bush for the following reasons:

His candor. GWB speaks his mind. He's not eloquent, he's not very diplomatic--but I think he's honest. The polish and charm of career politicians is always disconcerting to me. I don't necessarily need a "great communicator" so much as I want a straight-shooter, a plain-dealer. I think that if I could ask Bush any question, I'd get an honest answer, even if that answer is "I don't know."

His mental toughness. I'll wait for the laughter to die down. Okay. Think about this. You're elected to the highest office in the land by the slimmest imaginable margin. For the next four years, you preside over the greatest domestic terror attack in US history, corporate scandals, recession, natural disasters, and general unease. On top of that, you are one of the most oft-maligned and despised people in the country. There have been myriad movies and TV shows that consistently mock and disparage you, as well as other works of art that seem to envision or even promote your attack and/or assassination. Whole forests and oceans of ink have been spent and spilled to prove that you are an idiot, liar, swindler, despot, madman, etc. Then you begin your re-election campaign. You are the universal target for half of the nation's rage and malice. You're the constant source of denigration by political pundits on all sides. National news agencies are planning for damaging exposes in the weeks and even hours leading up to the election. And all the time, you hold your head high, and fight on despite the storm.

Come on, no matter what side you're on, or whether you think he deserves it, you have to admit that GWB has dealt with the most strenuous personal onslaught of any public figure in the past several generations. And I respect that. He's a tough old bastard. Personally, I would have folded a year ago.

His commitment. The President is committed to the war, to seeing it through to the end, and setting up a democracy in the Middle East, as a buffer against theocratic rogue nations and possible terrorist harbors. He is committed to tax cuts, and not just for the wealthy. I appreciated my taxes not being as high as they could have been. I appreciate the child and marriage tax credits or reductions that my parents got. The president is committed to improving the economy by supporting business. You don't create jobs by screwing the richest 2%, whose companies help create the jobs. Come on, folks--businesses create jobs. And the KEdwards "screw the rich" policy will not have the effect they think it will. Businesses will try to offset a higher tax burden by either cutting production costs (read: JOBS) or by increasing prices. This is not good for America. GWB understands this. His tax cuts have helped.

Most importantly, the President is committed to national security. People complain that their favorite government program got its funding cut or its funding increase lowered, and that Defense spending increased. The Defense budget is ever increasing because we're at war. We're at war on two fronts (because, no, we didn't forget about Afghanistan) against a global enemy (Islamofacism) that is still crying out for our blood. Terrorism is not and won't soon be "a nuisance." It's a real threat that must be taken seriously. The administration has been often accused of fearmongering when it talks about these threats. But that's because they're there, and they're real. We can't afford to ignore them or try to pacify them. We certainly can't afford to wait until we're attacked again, before doing anything else about them. The Bush Doctrine works. And it will continue to work.

His faith. The President is a man of faith, and that means that his faith dictates his actions. There is a lot of talk about "separation of Church and State" (a phrase nowhere to be found in the Constitution) and about not conforming national policy to personal morality. But I don't buy that. I am all for freedom of religion or no religion, if you like. But it is my firm belief that any elected official who proclaims faith and doesn't let their faith affect their voting or their professional choices, has no real faith at all. That's like the businessman who says, "I personally believe that swindling other companies is wrong, but I don't let that affect the choices I make on behalf of the company."

My opinion has always been, "Right is right, in the churchhouse AND the statehouse. Wrong is wrong, in the home AND in the courtroom." If you believe something is important, don't play lipservice to it and then ignore it later. If you belive something is wrong, don't try to coddle by saying it may be right for someone else.

Am I promoting dogma? No. Just consistency. Has GWB been totally consistent? No, because, as I said yesterday, he's human. But I can tell he's trying to be.

*****
There it is. The official endorsement. And my final* word on this very partisan, very tiring political season.



*I, of course, reserve the right to add something tomorrow morning.