"Down the Home Stretch: Leaning Heavily Toward Bush"
October 31, 2000
As the Presidential Election heads into the "home stretch" I am leaning
heavily toward casting my vote for Bush & Cheney. I have grown very
comfortable with George Bush during the past month, especially because
of his overall performance in the three Presidential Debates. Any
lingering doubts or hesitancy I have pertaining to Bush is very much
allayed or put rest by the presence of Dick Cheney as George Bush's
running mate. My positive feelings about Cheney continue to increase
every few days. I almost regret there isn't more media coverage
concerning the Vice Presidential candidates.
I am very favorably inclined toward Joe Lieberman as well. I have a
sense, though, that George Bush will rely upon and listen to Dick Cheney
more than Al Gore will do with Joe Lieberman...
In reflecting further upon the three Presidential Debates, I must admit
that I am favoring Bush's "style" more than Gore's "substance". I am
very comfortable, though, with the concept of Bush setting a tone or
direction for the country and, importantly, leaving the details or
implementation to people such Dick Cheney.
My perception of George Bush and Al Gore might be best summarized as
follows: If I needed a teammate for a game of Trivial Pursuit, I'd want
Al Gore to be my partner. If I wanted to relax and enjoy myself after
the game was over, I'd seek out George Bush.
In terms of the campaign focus in Missouri & the St. Louis area, I feel
as if the Bush ads and/or Republican Party ads have been less
contentious and less negative than the Gore ads and/or Democratic Party
ads. Missouri in general and St. Louis in particular have been the
recipients of considerable campaigning efforts, media coverage and
election analysis. In many respects, this region may been getting numb
from all of the attention. And, certainly, we have probably reached a
point of information overload about the candidates, issues, polls,
electoral votes and so forth.
Among my friends and colleagues, I am detecting many more pro-Bush
voters than pro-Gore voters. Where I live and the people with whom I
come in contact, though, tend to be somewhat conservative and/or
Republican in each and every election. Overall, Bush has definitely
solidified his support among the people I know.
In contrast, I don't know anyone who have been swayed or swung over by
Gore.
From the time of the Democratic Convention, Al Gore has repeatedly said
"I'll fight for you" to the voters. Unfortunately, his combativeness
and feistiness does not convey a statesman or presidential demeanor.
And, as the voting public tires of the almost excessive campaign
rhetoric, Gore's somewhat negative style becomes a big turnoff to
voters... It's like they can't make up their mind as to how to appeal to
the voters.
Several weeks ago I decided to pay only minimal attention to specific
issues. The issues always change within a year or two. Also, the
President is only as effective with issues as Congress allows him to be.
I have been listening to the current issues, though, more to discern a
philosophy or approach to the federal government than to the specifics.
In this regard, I definitely have favored the Bush & Cheney perspective
of states' rights and local control.
The most significant conclusion I could make about my preference or
inclination in this year's Presidential Election would be if I had to
vote today or tomorrow, I'd vote for George Bush & Dick Cheney. For
better or worse, however, there are still several days remaining during
which I might hear or detect something that might change my mind.
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