Question Number Sixteen: Whom are you voting for and why? Please be specific.

I'm voting for President Bush. On the other hand . . . maybe I'm voting against John Kerry.

All four men in this race are very wealthy, with Sen. Kerry being the fattest cat of the four. President Bush had some success in business prior to entering politics. Vice President Cheney probably has the most distinguished career of the four, having served in Congress, as Secretary of Defense, and as CEO of Halliburton. Of course, the dirty liberals condemn him of his corporate experience.

Sen. Kerry has kept his face in the public through his entire adult life and married up for wealth. John Edwards "lawyered up" for his fortune. I doubt seriously whether as a child any of them wore bargain-store sneakers or made a meal of cold bread and beans. George Bush or Dick Chaney could more aptly converse with a trucker or a laborer. Maybe it boils down to likeability. But I'll stick with Bush.

President Bush's tax cuts are restarting the economy. John Kerry wants to soak the corporations and the wealthy (those his running mate couldn't bankrupt with lawsuits) with taxes. Some say Sen. Kerry emulates John F. Kennedy. Not so. President Kennedy advocated lower taxes for all Americans for a bigger economy. Sen. Kerry pits the wealthy and corporate America against the middle class and the poor. This is a smokescreen. In reality he wants to increase the size of government, which would require additional taxes to fund.

Early in the Presidential campaign, I thought the war in Iraq might be a problem for the President because a large number of people oppose the war. This thought lead me to believe the election was Sen. Kerry's to lose. His blundering statements such as "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time," and "the President rushed to war without a plan to win the peace," are costing him votes. Sen. Kerry would outsource our freedom and sovereignty to the United Nations and to our shady allies in Europe who were dealing under the table with Saddam Hussein.

Sen. Kerry says the war is a mistake. Yet those who died in Iraq have not died for a mistake. Such statements are a slap in the face to the bravest and brightest military force in our history.

Sen. Kerry's most recent statements regarding missing explosives are based on fuzzy, slanted, and biased news stories. On his next visit to Moscow, he might go find them under Treblinka Square!

The senator also criticizes the President on health care, Social Security, employment, and other domestic issues. But what has he done in his lackluster Senate career to improve these matters?

President Bush is not perfect, but he is our best hope for a safe America and a brighter economic future.


Blue-stater Timothy Horner responds:

I guess you only hear what you want to hear. Despite Kerry's adamant assurance that he would never surrender American security to anyone one, Joe and Cindy say he will. And in the face of a direct promise that Kerry will not raise taxes on the middle class, Joe and Cindy say he will. This is part of the neo-con package, and it reveals a desperate denial of anything Kerry says. It's all Bush has left to run on: denial. If anyone has a record of broken promises, it is Bush, not Kerry.

I also did not realize that the one who can best pretend to be one of us is the winner. Neither one of them is a regular guy, but only Bush has made a career out of pretending to be. And he is not even very good at the charade. Judging from the way he has showered privilege and tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans, I am surprised that Mr. Franklin does not see through the rouse.

But there is one statement that shows how successful Bush's propaganda has been. This administration has consistently silenced dissent and criticism of Bush's handling of the war by hiding behind the soldiers on the front line. If we criticize the war then we dishonor the soldiers. But if Vietnam did nothing else, it taught Americans not to blame the soldier for the mistakes made at the top, and yet it still lives on in Bush who is telling Americans that it is a package deal! It is truly ironic and dangerous that this administration, which seems to be so supportive of veterans, is still getting political mileage from this distasteful association.

This truly puts our troops at risk: If we cannot distinguish between the soldier and their commander and chief, then we will repeat a grave error from the Vietnam era. I have a yellow ribbon and a Kerry sticker on my truck. I can tell the difference between the war and the warrior. Can you?

Blue-stater Terri Falbo responds:

"Likeability" and personality are no reason to vote for a president. Too many confuse personality with character. A good actor can use a charming personality to mask an evil character. Just look at Scott Peterson. Instead, we need to learn to look closely at policies.

To explain her vote for President Bush, Ms. Snead points out what she obviously feels are contradictions in statements by John Kerry. Yet it's clear that these are not really ontradictory. The actual actions of both Bush and Cheney have been worse than contradictory.

To agree that Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, a dictator, and a potential threat is not to imply that there is an imminent danger of threat or that invasion, destruction, and occupation of a whole country is the answer. Many other options have not been exhausted.

The administration presented evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee but would not reveal its sources. Had it done so, Kerry and other committee members would have been more skeptical of the "information" presented.

No one condemns anyone for corporate experience in general. But the particular actions of particular corporations often do not strike confidence. Both Ms. Snead and Mr. Franklin conveniently ignore that Cheney's Halliburton set up subsidiaries in other countries so it could subvert U.S. sanctions to conduct trade with Hussein from 1996 to 2000. They ignore the fact that Saddam Hussein would never have had as much power as he did if it were not for Reagan/Cheney/Bush support all during the 1980s. U.S. government/corporate interests were involved in selling poison gas to Hussein even shortly after it had been revealed that he had used gas against civilians.

It is much of corporate America that has pitted itself against the middle class and poor by pushing for numerous policies that shift wealth away from the majority into the pockets of the top 1 percent. Kerry is only a messenger. Kerry has supported many bills to improve, among other domestic problems, health care, Social Security, and employment. If his career is "lackluster," it is only because he chose to remain in the background and support bills, rather than getting the limelight by claiming authorship.