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Senator Kerry

the _United States must be slowed.
We need new thinking that does not
place the interest of large corpora-
tions first. Kerry can and will give us
that. Kerry's plan to end tax breaks
for companies who move jobs over-
seas and give those tax breaks to
companies who retain jobs here

President Bush's support for Israel and
his strong attachment to the Jewish
people is not a product of polls or of
politics. It does not stem from his
expectation of our community's sup-
port for him or its lack thereof It is a
product of principle. It is a product of
an unwavering commitment to stand
for what he believes to be right. It is a
product of what lies in his heart.
From the beginning of his presiden-
cy, he recognized that Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat was no friend of
peace. While that conclusion may be
obvious now, it was anything but
when George W Bush made that ini-
tial determination and stood by it. He
suffered the scorn of the Arab world
and European leaders who told him he
must deal with Yasser Arafat. It took
three years, but eventually most of
Europe, the United Nations and much
of the Arab world have adopted
President Bush's conclusion. That is
the mark of true leadership.
It is President Bush's conviction that
enables him to withstand the interna-
tional pressure to push Israel to with-
draw forces from Gaza and the West
Bank, or to desist from targeting ter-
rorists before they strike. It is this con-

makes sense.
On education, Bush, the
self-styled "education pres-
ident," has failed to fully
fund his own "No Child
Left Behind" program. It's
been under funded by
over $27 billion. Kerry
will change this.
On national security,
despite his tough talk,
Bush's efforts against
domestic terrorism have
fallen far short of our
needs to meet those
threats. Security is inade-
quate for chemical plants,
nuclear facilities and
around our ports.
Increased funding for
these programs has only
just been started by the Bush admin-
istration in this pre-election period.
On the environment, Bush has let
corporate polluters that have
financed his political career and
their lobbyists literally write the reg-
ulations that govern our air, water
and land.

viction that enables him to fight for a
Middle East where people are free
from state-sponsored incitement, and
state-induced poverty and despair.
And it is this conviction that will
enable us to be part of the most far-
reaching effort to expand the family of
free nations since the end of World
War II — an effort that may only be
accomplished through U.S. leadership.
These efforts will surely rank among
the most ambitious, yet noble under-
takings this country has ever entered
into. The United States has always
risen to great challenges, and the world
is better off for it today.

A Stern Challenge

Unfortunately, I find our world at yet
another crossroads that I had hoped
that I would not witness in my life-
time. These next four years will greatly
test the resolve of our next president
and the leader of the free world. The
stakes are simply too great to trust to
the politically faint of heart.
It will fall upon the next president's
shoulders to choose whether we learn
from the mistakes of the past and deci-
sively confront the tyranny of militant

Our next president will almost
certainly have an opportunity to
pick two or three new Supreme
Court justices. In which direction
do we want our Supreme Court to
move? Do we want more justices the
likes of Antonin Scalia and Clarence
Thomas, whose views this president
has publicly praised and endorsed?
In the third debate, the president
refused to say how he felt about Roe
vs. Wade. In the next four years,
under a Bush administration, a
woman's right to abortion could be
made illegal. A right-wing Supreme
Court could negatively affect our
children and grandchildren's lives for
generations.

Kerry's Strengths

Yes, Sen. Kerry will probably repeal
some of the tax benefits that many
of us, including my wife and myself,
have enjoyed. But, dare any of us
vote our pocketbooks when
America's future is at stake?
Yes, it is doubtful that Kerry's pre-
election fiscal promises are fully

implementable, but he will cut the
deficit. He will improve health care.
He will be tough on terror and he
will be good for Israel. He'll make
American more competitive and will
begin to bring us renewed efforts to
become less energy dependent. The
Bush administration has weakened
our efforts in this era where America
is at the mercy of oil producing Arab
countries.
Kerry is a strong defender of civil
rights. He will remove unnecessary
restrictions on stem cell research,
and he understands the separation of
church and state.
But, most importantly, he will be
a president who represents all
Americans, not just corporate
America. Kerry will not be an ideo-
logue. He'll be honest and forth-
right. He will tell us the truth. He
will be a president who understands
that we can't go it alone in this com-
plex world.
Sen. John Kerry will have my vote
on Nov. 2.

❑

Islam and its state sponsors now,
or wait to confront an evil far
greater and far stronger later.
It will fall on his shoulders to
decide whether we send a message
of clarity and resolve, or one of
indecisiveness and confusion, to
the enemies of freedom and
progress. It will fall on his shoul-
ders to weather the ebb and flow
of success and failures found in
every great struggle in the history
of our nation and continue to
steer the ship of state on the true
course for the future. The charac-
ter and the strength required to
stand for right is the exception
President Bush
rather than the rule.
This November, we will be
called upon to determine the
their grandchildren.
nature of our response to these ques-
Knowing President Bush as I do, I
tions and the difficulties we face in the have no doubt that so long as he con-
world. This election is vastly more
tinues to lead this country, both the
important than which party gains or
people of Israel and the Jewish people
maintains control of the White House. throughout the world will have a
For many of us, this election is not
friend that they can rely upon,
about partisanship. It is about the fate
through good times and bad. And that
of humanity, and the legacy which the
gives me immeasurable comfort in
generation who lived and fought
these times of great struggle and even
through World War II and the cre-
greater consequences. ❑
ation of the State of Israel will leave to

10/22

2004

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