John F Kerry for President

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Registered: 08-05-2004
John F Kerry for President
Mon, 10-18-2004 - 2:54am
Here's the link: http://www.baytownsun.com/story.lasso?wcd=18235

John F. Kerry for president

From staff reports

Baytown Sun Email story

Print story

Published October 17, 2004

A political endorsement represents a consensus of The Baytown Sun editorial board, which is composed of the following members: Wanda Garner Cash, publisher; David Bloom, managing editor; Dee Anne Navarre, business manager; Joseph Lohan, assistant managing editor; Meredith Darnell, news editor; Jim Finley, columnist and former managing editor; and Jane Howard Lee, columnist and former reporter.

A tally as to how the board voted also appears.

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Our endorsement of Sen. John F. Kerry is based on the need for a change in leadership. Based on his record, President Bush does not deserve re-election.

Kerry’s Vietnam record as a soldier and a protester has taught him valuable lessons about the limits of American power and the importance of a president playing it straight at home and across the world.

Kerry’s decades of public service give him a clear understanding of domestic issues. His beliefs on how America is supposed to work spring from the core of our democracy. His social policies are informed by compassion that is pragmatic and real and not just an alliterative campaign slogan.

He knows it’s unacceptable that 45 million Americans lack health coverage, and he has a plan to shrink that number. He won’t shrug or smirk when he sees American children slipping into poverty or more paychecks losing buying power.

John Kerry knows America needs to get back to work, to reclaim lost jobs, realign our trading partners and rebuild the surplus that Bush eroded into a $422 billion deficit.

He will work to reverse the tax cuts for the very wealthy and use the money to improve health care and help middle- and lower-class families.

Kerry understands the importance of homeland security, of working with our allies to fight terrorism and nuclear weapons proliferation. He also would end the back-door draft of American reservists and the use of American soldiers as imperial police.

George Bush wrongly transformed the war on terrorism into an invasion of Iraq — a reckless decision still exacting a painful toll in lives, credibility, alliances, Islamic anger and lost opportunities.

Ending the military occupation of Iraq must be a top priority for the next administration. This will be no easy task, but Kerry is more likely to do it — and with more understanding of Middle Eastern realities.

America is suffering because of Bush’s poor decisions and policies: the misguided war in Iraq and its aftermath, undisciplined spending, assaults on constitutional rights and a religious social agenda that is wrong for the government of a diverse republic.

Although our endorsement of John Kerry is not without reservations, we believe he is the kind of leader America needs now. A leader who sees the world clearly, who understands domestic issues, who can rebuild international alliances, and empower a government for the benefit of all Americans

Editorial board vote: 4 for Kerry, 1 for Bush, 2 undecided.