I am writing in response to Doug Zabrowski's Oct. 14 Viewpoint "Vote for Bush called 'right decision.'" To point out everything wrong with the Bush administration would be a monumental task. The economy, health care and international relations have all been impacted negatively over these past four years. The only way for the country to progress and recover is for a new administration — one with the compassion and intelligence of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) — to take over.

The economy is perhaps the largest victim of President Bush's ill-thought out policies. Zabrowski wrote, "We will choose to create jobs or start losing them." The country has already lost millions of jobs. Although there has been a slight — and I mean slight — upswing, there are still 1.6 million fewer jobs in America.

Although Bush likes to call the addition of a few ill-paying jobs an economic turnaround, I am reminded of George Orwell's "1984." In this eerily prescient novel, there is an incident in which everybody's chocolate ration is cut. The next day, they are told their chocolate rations have been increased, even though they are still less than what they had been in the first place. Everybody cheered, not realizing the discrepancy between what is and what they are told. Bush tells us the economy is better, when we can all see it is not true.

While Bush calls himself a "compassionate conservative," he is in actuality neither. Spending almost $200 billion on a tax cut for the wealthy while slashing programs such as health care, police and fire stations is not compassionate. Driving up the biggest deficit in American history in the process is certainly not conservative.

Compassion means having some element of feeling for one's fellow man, and Bush does not possess this trait. Clearly, to the current administration, our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness do not include even the most basic right of health care. Bush has sat by and watched as millions of citizens have lost coverage, including 1 million children and one-quarter million veterans. Zabrowski and Bush even consider health care "a privilege, not a right." That kind of thinking is very sad. All people have a right to be seen by a doctor and receive equal treatment.

As for the Iraq war, the Rev. Pat Robertson — a strong Bush supporter — revealed recently that Bush claimed the conflict in Iraq would produce no American casualties. If one of Bush's biggest fans tells the public Bush had no idea about the consequences, I am inclined to believe him. What motivation would a Bush supporter have to lie? Kerry was never so blind or ignorant about situations overseas. Although Bush might call having a nuanced view on an issue "flip-flopping," Kerry was more on the ball than Bush ever was. Kerry knew Saddam Hussein was evil, and said as much. However, unlike Bush, he also knew stirring up a hornet's nest, using overextended troops, abandoning Afghanistan and throwing away international assistance might not be a good idea.

Zabrowski also said Bush "empowered minorities." That is laughable. Every Bush policy has made it more difficult for minorities to be treated as equals. Minorities have been among the hardest hit by Bush's policies encouraging the outsourcing of jobs. Also, during the 1990s, low-income minority families were experiencing the largest gains in income and tax relief. Now, top-tier white men are receiving that money. Fewer minorities are graduating high school, due in part to Bush's No Child Left Behind Act that actually leaves millions of children behind. It seems the only minority Bush empowers is the richest one percent of the nation.

Bush failed to deliver on all his promises. Kerry has the intelligence and humanistic philosophy it takes to be a good, moral leader. I am nervous about Nov. 2. I hope the majority of the United States has the compassion and forethought to vote for Kerry — a man who will truly fight for all of America.

Wierzbicki is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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