Michael Jackson TalkRadio Content

hat are we learning about the state of our nation and the world? What are we hearing about the prospects and programs planned for the next four years and beyond? In this presidential campaign, almost nothing, as the emphasis is on the past. We need and deserve so much more than the punch and counterpunch of the Bush and Kerry campaigns over what each candidate did or did not do in service to country decades ago.
We are still the world's only superpower, but our belief that we are the force for good in the world, is no longer shared by the rest of the world. Will we know where the candidates stand on how we change that perception?.I recently had the good fortune to interview Peter Peterson, a Republican with great credentials, author of "Running on Empty" and he is concerned, mightily, about how this aging, heavily indebted country, faces long-term tradeoffs between national security and retirement security. He is concerned about the growing indebtedness to foreigners and, as he said, deficits do matter, despite the repetitious statement to the contrary being made on the campaign trail by the Vice President.
The Financial Times had a good editorial response to people who feel as I do that serious debate is needed right up until November 2nd, They write, "Cynics will argue that it is naive to call for a serious debate about the future in a modern US election campaign. In the era of cable news, where lies, sound-bites and innuendo are common currency, it is easier to focus on questions of character and the thrill of the horse race."
And so, while we need to know what happens next in Iraq and whether or not it might be time for us to consider a withdrawal from that country, because what we have there is nothing short of disastrous;
While we need to know how it is that the aftermath of a war won with such military skill, has been so deadly and unsuccessful in its aftermath, we should be asking the question of Bush and Kerry, "Is the continuing presence of the United States military in Iraq a significant part of the solution, or a significant part of the problem."
But no, right before the election there will be debate over who is the better American leader as measured by their view of the legislation calling for penalties, if one desecrates an American flag. This, in a free society. I watched both the Democrat and Republican conventions and I saw all manner of people, who are undoubtedly good fellow citizens, wearing T-shirts cut from what appeared to be a flag. They had hats and banners and all manner of campaign paraphernalia with the facsimile of the grand old flag. Is that desecration? Is it desecration when the bikers roll in to town on their Harleys,with bandanas that look mightily like our flag. None of them are being "un-American" or "Anti-American."
Or is desecration only when it involves somebody with whom you disagree? It's a good but hardly significant campaign issue. It is certainly a juicier issue than North Korea and Iran's nuclear capacity.
And what some will do to get votes! For ten years we have had a law protecting the public from assault rifles and other battlefield weapons. No longer. The gun lobby has the Bush administration in the palm of their hand; the NRA wields such influence. The only people who were hurt by the ban on Uzis, AK47s TEC-9 assault pistols and the like were the gun lobbyists, the least responsible of the gun dealers and criminals. In no way were hunter's rights, as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, diminished. The New York Times ended a recent editorial with these words "The Bush administration has allowed the right to bear arms to degenerate back to the right to brandish battlefield weapons on the home front."
I would much rather hear discussion of the steady erosion of civil rights with this current administration. The American Patriot Act gives the government what they have never had before; new powers to snoop and arrest. The act allows law enforcement officers to search through individuals medical and financial data without their knowledge. Public librarians and book shops must hand over records of our reading habits. It's three years since the federal government rushed to pass the enormous legislation and many of the congressmen who signed on, admit they never read the over 300 pages dealing with restrictions on civil liberties.
That will hardly be touched on in the remaining weeks of the campaign for leadership of the mightiest country in the world.
Two questions I would love to ask Mr.Bush ...Sir, was the war a mistake and where do we go from here? The self-same questions must be answered by his challenger, Sen.John Kerry. Do you really, clearly, know where either or both of the candidates stand?