Now, I do believe that President Bill Clinton did a lot of good for this country, but the economy was going bad before Bush took office. And it was capped off with Sept. 11, the major event which seemed to push everything into chaos. Why then, two years after the attacks and with an economy on the rebound, do the Democrats find it necessary to point out useless flaws in the system? Things seem to be turning around with the economy, so why should they be blaming a Republican for fixing it? Also, the war in Iraq has been going on for quite some time. Many Democrats think that the entire conflict was unnecessary. I can only ask would it be better for us to be living in a world with Saddam Hussein, or one without him? Most people would answer the latter, as would I. Most Democrats are finding it easier to glance over this fact, and just let it slip past. Is that not reason enough to justify the war; to oust a ruthless dictator who many people say is just a modern-day Hitler?

And finally, when one of the most prominent Democratic candidates, Howard Dean, says that he wants to get the vote of those Americans with Confederate flags in the back of their pickups, what is that saying about him, and the party in general? I know most Democrats would never say this, but what would compel Dean to say such a thing? There are racist and cultural implications behind that statement, and it totally isolated Dean. Yet many of his supporters have conveniently forgotten that it was ever said. In my humble opinion, it seems completely useless to vote for a party who wants to isolate our country and turn it into a socialist state. I think keeping W. in office for another four years is the only smart option we have at this point.

McDonald is a freshman journalism major.