I support Jim Carignan’s advice for Sen. John Kerry (April 4). I hope Kerry follows the advice.

• The War on Terror and the Iraq war have failed. Good one. Didn’t this work for Howard Dean, too? Hopefully voters will forget that the United States hasn’t been attacked since Sept. 11.

• It is about the economy. As Carignan wrote, “it worked against Bush I.” Maybe it will again, even though the GDP is growing this year at the strongest rate since 1984, we are on track to add jobs in 2004 and the stock market is up more than 30 percent over the last 12 months. Kerry is on top of this issue, though. In a country with 8 million unemployed, he has pledged to add 10 million new jobs.

• Bush “contributed to the near epidemic proportions of childhood asthma.” And don’t forget to mention that the CIA was responsible for starting the crack epidemic.

• “Medicare is more efficient than private insurers.” We need only look to the economic success of the socialist-leaning European nations to see the efficiencies of government programs. The EU countries have averaged nearly 9 percent unemployment over the last 10 years and Europeans’ tax burden is over 40 percent of their GDP (compared to our 18 percent).

• “Your biggest challenge is to restore credibility to the process of politics.” Since Kerry is both for and against almost every issue, he can’t be misleading anybody.
Scott Gardner, Auburn

Copy the Story Link