It's the Issues, Stupid
by Jan Baughman
February 6, 2000 - Note from the Editor: Jan Baughman read Margaret Wyles' piece, published last week, and felt, having carefully listened to President Clinton's last State of the Union speech, that she could add a few words of her own. This site, I'm afraid, is being hijacked by liberal, far-left women up to no good. Stay tuned.
So, here we are, well into campaign 2000, which already seems to have been going on for a millennium. The pundits say that we, the people, are uninterested in issues -- it's the character thing that matters this time around. Anyway, it's easy to ignore issues when none are pressing. Except for those few poor souls lingering around the poverty line, life couldn't be better! The economy is booming, unemployment is at a record low, more Americans than ever own stock, and we have the security of knowing that if it all comes to a screeching halt, we own vehicles large enough to house a family of four. Anyway, someone will fix the health care problem one of these days. At the very least, we'll help a few of the forty-something million to buy health insurance, even though they won't have anything left over to pay for the actual health care! No need to worry about gun control -- soon we'll have common-sense gun safety legislation that implements sensible gun safety laws for our new smart guns that are less likely to shoot the wrong person. Abortion is a moot point -- we won that battle long ago. Even though the 105th Congress passed 39 measures restricting access to abortion and contraceptive services, that whole slippery-slope notion is just a bunch of gobbledygook. Been there, won that. And foreign policy issues? Heck, we've already forgotten how to find Yugoslavia on the map! How can we think about foreign policy? We need to hone up on our trivia, so we can get on a game show and win a million bucks! See, we DO care about education!
Yes, life at home is just fine and soon we'll have a brand new President to lead us into the unknown, and he'll tell us what issues we should think about. But who will our new leader be? Gore is already being declared the victor in the Democratic race (can we at least give Bill Bradley a chance to fight?) Beyond that, I shudder to think. I have recurring nightmares filled with images of George (no W.) Bush patronizing me and, in the background, sounds of John McCain's creepy laugh as he tells his favorite Reagan stories. Please, just wake me up when it's all over. Depending on the outcome, of course, that may be in November, or that may be in 2005...
Resources on the War in Yugoslavia and its Aftermath
Articles Published on Swans Regarding the War in Yugoslavia and its Aftermath