Re: Bush or Kerry?
 

I was interning in Washington D.C. with the (Democratic staff of the) House Science Committee this past summer. I was able to get this job through my congresswoman, Zoe Lofgren, who has been a long time supporter of FIRST (since 2002 when she spoke at the Silicon Valley Regional). While working in Washington I was able to “spread the gospel” of FIRST to many democratic staffers, and there is a good chance that we can get hearings on “Collaborative Competitive Project Based Learning” programs in K-12 and colleges. This is the first step towards, and a short step from, federal monetary support for programs like FIRST and organizations that support them all over the country.

I disagree with your statement that the USA should retreat from Iraq. I believe that it was a foolhardy mistake for us to have invaded that country, but at this point in time we’ve made our bed (no matter how poorly) and for our security’s sake we cannot pack up and leave. President Bush has turned a country that was less of a threat than North Korea or Iran into a terrorist infested war zone. Iraq was not a threat to our security in the state it was just over 2 years ago, but now it has become the terrorist haven that the Bush administration claimed it was as part of their case for war. We must muster allies to assist in the putting down of the rebellious factions within Iraq. This is something that George Bush has proved himself incapable of time and time, again. It is in our country’s best interest to drop this “our way or the highway” attitude when it comes to our foreign policy. We must engage in an intelligent, respectful, and compromising foreign policy in order to give other countries the necessary incentive to provide troops and monetary support for the rebuilding of Iraq.

It isn’t a correct statement to say that John Kerry voted to support the “war” in Iraq. The vote that everyone refers to was not a blank check to go to war without cause, as Bush officials and supporters would make it out to be. It was a political threat to coerce Saddam Hussein to capitulate to weapons inspectors searching through the country for those ever elusive “weapons of mass destruction.”

Bush isn’t significantly ahead of Kerry in the polls. Most polls show the candidates within the margin of error, although Bush is ahead by slight margins (usually 2-6%) in most polls. It’s a close race, and will continue to be one, which is why it’s ever so important that we consider the repercussions of our votes this November.

Re: Bush or Kerry?
 

Wait a second this doesn't make any sense. How can it be a threat unless there is no ultimatum. Looking at both sides just compounds the confusion.

Re: Bush or Kerry?
 

There was a threat. The threat was “you better let the weapons inspectors do their job, or else we’ll have no qualms with kicking your butt back to the Stone Age.” The problem arises when President Bush took this resolution to mean that he didn’t have to wait until weapons inspectors searched the country. So when the first reports of not finding any of those ever elusive “weapons of mass destruction” came in, Bush decided he was entitled to invade Iraq anyway.

Re: Bush or Kerry?
 

Concerning polls, the ball has definitley switched sides. Remember in late July/early August, when Virgina, North Carolina, Missouri, and Louisiana were swing states, Ohio was higher for Kerry (anywhere from a 1 pt lead to a "leans Kerry"), the entire upper midwest was "leans Kerry", and California, New York, and Illinois were solid blue?

Not any more. Bush is now ahead in the upper midwest, and in Ohio. He picked up Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, and Louisiana, and it is pretty certain that if voting is tommorrow, Bush will win. According to Newsweek (9/27), even Florida leans Bush. According to Rasmussen Reports, New York is in blue territory by only 4 percent. Do people think Kerry has a July-like rebound coming, or is he past his peak (like BushCorp's oil production will be in 5 years)?

Of course, my ultimate political goal in life is to turn Indiana and Texas into blue states. :yikes: .