Last week the candidates of the two prominent political parties locked horns in the first presidential and vice-presidential debates. While the debates had very different tones from one another, the underlying message from each party seemed clear.
Gore wants more bureaucracy, more dependency, and more government spending without the promise of real reform. Bush, on the other hand, made it clear. He supports an across the board tax cut, more federal spending on education if schools can demonstrate real achievement, a Medicare prescription drug program that will allow senior citizens the choice of receiving private coverage or coverage through the existing system, and reforms to Social Security which will allow young people greater investment freedom but still ensure that senior citizens do not lose benefits.
There is a fundamental difference of opinion, my friends. The differing opinions are not just a matter of figures. Make no mistake about this: Al Gore does not put faith in you, the American citizen. He feels that government knows how to manage your life better than you do. Bush, by contrast, believes that you know how best to live your life. He puts the power in individuals' hands - not government's.
During the debate, Gore tried to characterize Bush's Social Security plan as "locking" seniors into private insurance companies that are expensive and often don't offer full coverage. Bush rightly pointed out that his plan offers seniors a choice between the existing system or a private company. The story was the same with Social Security. Gore attempted to scare seniors into thinking that Bush's plan would leave them without their Social Security checks. Bush responded strongly, saying that he did not appreciate Gore's scare tactics. Bush's plan, as he has previously stated, allows seniors to continue getting benefits while allowing young Americans the choice of investing a small portion of their payroll taxes into the free market.
Of course it would be unheard of to get through an entire evening of Gore speech without some totally heart warming and totally fictitious story. As a matter of fact, we got two of Al's fairy tales during the debate. The first involved a claim that a high school student in Florida was in a class that was so crowded, she had to stand each day during lecture. It came as no surprise that the principal of the school contacted news affiliates to clear things up for Al. What Gore was referring to was a picture taken on the first day of school. The classroom was crowded for two reasons: 1) it was the first day of school and logistics were still being figured out and 2) there was $100,000 of new lab equipment that had not been stored yet which was taking up space. The second fairy tale was that Gore had traveled to Texas with the director of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management gency). Bush was asked to talk about a crisis during which he had displayed exceptional leadership. Gore commended Bush on his efforts and claimed that he had been there too. The expression on Bush's face was self explanatory - "you were Al?"
Aside from politics, Gore behaved in a very un-presidential manner throughout the evening. On many occasions (after 7, I lost count) Gore would sigh heavily, gasp, or shuffle his notes while Bush was answering questions. Many commentators after the debate felt that Gore's behavior was annoying and rude. Pundits claim that this sort of behavior (the spoiled child act, as I call it) isn't new to Gore - he used it during his debate with Jack Kemp in 1996 in order to try and bait his opponent.
Despite every liberal journalist on the planet claiming that Gore won the debate, I found that Bush performed admirably. Gore, having a great deal more debate experience and having no qualms about twisting facts may have outperformed Bush technically, but I thought Bush was able to hold his own in the ideological arena.
In stark contrast to the presidential debate, the vice-presidential debate was one of the most civil events in politics I have ever seen. Dick Cheney, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, and Joseph Lieberman, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, conducted themselves in such a dignified manner that I almost wish they were the presidential candidates.
They both discussed the issues of military spending, racial injustice, Social Security, Medicare, education, and tax policy. Like Bush, Cheney communicated that there was a fundamental difference in philosophy between Lieberman and himself. Cheney emphasized that the Bush/Cheney ticket was about limited government and individual freedom. As for Lieberman, he (in as much as he could be "himself") tried to support many of Gore's policies (and to his credit, he did a fairly good job - I don't mind Leiberman as much as I loathe Gore). But when Cheney pointed out that he was disappointed that Lieberman had molded so many of his positions in order to fit on the Gore ticket, it highlighted the fact that Gore and Lieberman are very different sorts of Democrats.
Outside of politics, Cheney and Lieberman were able to joke back and forth a little while the debate was being conducted. Lieberman, making the point that the economy was quite good, commented that Cheney had done quite well for himself in the private sector. Cheney responded confidently that it "had nothing to do with government." The audience laughed uproariously. Lieberman then added that he thought he saw his wife gesturing that they should try out the private sector. Cheney replied, "We hope to help you with that."
But alas, as November 7 approaches, we Americans have a very important decision to make. Do we put our faith in big government or in the people? Do we support a limited government or an ever more intrusive one? Do we attempt to reform Social Security, save it from bankruptcy, and allow more choice to young adults, or do we remain with the status quo? Do we demand results from our schools or just keep sending federal funds while our kids graduate without basic reading skills?
This is the choice we have to make on November 7. And the choice is clear: Bush-Cheney: nothing debatable about it!