As I watched the second presidential debate Wednesday night, I tried
to keep an open mind, listen to the men and their stance on the issues.
It didn’t take long for me to see the change in Al Gore’s attitude. I
think he got the message from the polls after the first debate, so he
tried to control himself. The interrupting, the sighing, the big
numbers he threw around did not go over well with voters. The real Al
Gore — an insecure man on the attack who is trying to prove himself as
a great debater — had to be masked. But the real Al Gore did rear his
ugly head a few times.
We saw the purebred Washington, D.C., politician that is Al Gore,
which is one of the reasons he lost the debate. When I heard him
rambling with double talk and “real life” stories, he left me wondering
what he had really said.
The credibility of this administration is in serious trouble. For
the last eight years, every time President Clinton says something,
Americans always wonder, “Is he telling the truth?” Do we deserve
another 4 years like this? When Al Gore rattled off his fuzzy numbers
and “true” stories than ended up being huge exaggerations, I knew there
was a problem. But thank God for the wonderful world of American
journalism. They caught him and forced him to admit it in front of the
American people. It’s more evidence to the American people that this
guy simply does not tell the truth. He will say anything to get
elected.
I know some of you out there are tired of reading my criticisms of
the Clinton administration. But what I’ve been trying to tell my readers
since day 1 of this column is that my reason for so-called “Clinton
bashing” is to make sure the American people know the truth about their
leader. My purpose is not revenge or personal gain — if anything, this
column has caused me to suffer more. I could just disappear and live a
quiet life, but the American people deserve to know the truth.
The real Al Gore suffers from a case of insecurity. I remember when
I met with Clinton and Gore in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza Hotel
for a fund-raising party. I was in line to have my picture taken with
the dynamic duo at a private reception and had brought a gift for the
president from China — a tiny bottle, resembling a perfume bottle, with
a hand-painted picture painted on the inside of the first lady and the
president. I’d had it made especially for the first couple. When I
presented it to the president, Gore stood next to him, watching and
listening as Clinton got all the attention. The president seemed to
like the gift very much, saying he had never seen anything like it. He
totally forgot there were other people in line for pictures, and, as we
stood there chit chatting for several minutes, we both ignored the vice
president standing to the side. Gore interrupted and encouraged us to
move along. I realized I hadn’t brought him anything and that he had
been standing in Clinton’s shadow the whole time. But eventually, he
had to draw attention to himself.
He’s been doing that for eight years now with Clinton, and it
continues in his attitude toward Bush. You can see it in the way he
responded to Bush in the first debate — constantly cutting in,
breathing heavy sighs to get attention. He acts like a little kid, and
he tried really hard to be a grown up in the second debate. Every
American could tell he was straining to be something he wasn’t.
Gore’s change between the first and second debate shows us his
insecurity. He wants to be his own man, but, apparently, he doesn’t
know who that man is, because he is so easily swayed by public opinion.
Gore now says he is for shrinking government. What a joke! Since when
has Al Gore favored a smaller government?
By contrast, we saw Bush relaxed and being his usual self. He may
not have earned an A+ on foreign affairs, but he did a great job,
showing us that he is capable of running the country and handling
conflicts with other countries. Bush does not flip-flop on the issues.
He stood by his critique of our dwindling armed forces and maintained a
tough stance on crime.
When you listen to Bush, you know clearly where he stands on the
issues. But a few seconds into Gore’s responses, he is already in la-la
land. You don’t really know what he’s talking about.
I have to ask myself, who will provide dignity and morality and will
take a stand on social issues like gay marriage and government-financed
abortion? I do not want a federal law that would take away my right to
state my views on homosexuality in our schools. Teaching of my son and
daughters to believe that being gay is a God-given right is not the
school’s job. I feel it is the parents’ responsibility to instill
values into their children and to raise them up in their own faith
traditions.
I simply cannot trust Al Gore to protect my rights as a parent,
because he is wishy-washy on many issues. He says he respects marriage
as between a man and a woman, but he supports an equivalent institution
for homosexuals. He’s had eight years to fix public schools, but do we
see any good results? Parents should ask themselves if they really
trust government-sponsored education. I did. That’s why we now
home-school our kids.
I don’t know too much about Yugoslavia or that region, but I do know
the recent overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic has captured the attention of
Communist China. According to Chinese Internet News this week, China’s
President Jiang Zemin was worried about what occurred in the region. He
said, “A spark from a fire can burn down an entire country.” China has
been a strong supporter of Milosevic, but his downfall has given the
communist leaders pause.
Zemin does not want China to be another Yugoslavia. During his annual
meeting with high-ranking officials, he explained that huge changes in
government, including shifts in power bases in Taiwan and Russia as well
as warring in the Middle East, do not equal the power of people, as
evidenced in Yugoslavia. It’s the people that governments must fear.
Did you remember the song, “It never rains in Southern California,”
from the ’60s? After the debate Wednesday, it began to rain here in Los
Angeles. There was a freshness in the air that always comes after the
rain. The next morning, the sun came up so beautifully, and everything
was perfect. When I listened to Bush and saw his sincerity, I felt the
same way the earth must feel after a good rain — refreshed.
I was also reminded of the Clinton-Gore slogan from their 1992
campaign: “It’s time for change.” I agree — it is time for change.
Americans deserve something better. It is my hope that Californians,
indeed, that all Americans, realize what the people in Texas already
know — George W. Bush is a great leader.
One last thing: Mr. Gore, you quoted Matthew 6:21 during the debate,
which says, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.” You stopped there, but you should have continued to read what
Jesus said just after that in the next two verses.
“The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear,
your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your
whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in
you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
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