Regardless of tonight’s outcome, the issues will remain. Iraq is not going away; this nasty episode, but another that didn’t have to be, must be dealt with and there is no panacea in sight. The Sunni savagery is a reflection of the thirty years of tyranny and still not willing to give up. Since Bush evidently had this divine calling and, like his father, had not been a wimp, despite the heralded resolve, and gone to war not just to win but to crush the opposition with substantial troops, Iraq would have been history by now and his second term a given.

The morality fever pitch led by the Christian Coalition will continue to plague the nation even if Kerry wins. Their blind hatred for gay unions will still prick the weakened conscience of many other sects who probably would be inclined, but for the coalitions incessant prodding, to look the other way as they should have with so many other quandaries such as interracial marriage, white supremacy, prayer in schools, vouchers for private or parochial schools, faith-based movement, and abortion.

The national debt is a long term mortgage that cannot be solved without a commitment to pay it down, which is not going to happen with the nation’s stubbornness about increasing revenue, either by higher taxes or a thriving middle class economy, requiring better paying employment in new industries of the future. The current contentment with lopsided trade agreements ironically favors the consumer at huge hidden cost to the nation’s foreign debt and in the proliferation of unskilled workers. Even if Bush were reborn again, he is too embedded with big business to envision a new style of capitalism, and Kerry would be up against an intractable congress.

The hysteria over terrorism, causing a second, pointless war, is still in evidence and will continue with as much ferocity if Bush is in command, or under Kerry much the same unless his trump card of mended international relations comes into play. This would let him prioritize a systemic homeland security and concentrate on North Korea, Syria, and Iran.

Whoever … don’t look for miracles.

       Copyright © 2004 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: November 2, 2004.

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