There was a part of his speech, or maybe it as the opening introduction....either way, something was said about where a man ends up or something similar, this isn't quite right but...whatever. The thing that struck me was, I saw GW as another dweeb politician, another in a long line. Nothing stood out about him. Likeable fellow I suppose but I don't need to like my President. I need to respect him.
Well, I wasted a vote on the green party idiot, thinking it didn't much matter & what fun it would be to have Nader in the Oval Office. This was, of course, before 9/11. The speech on 9/20 was what won me over to GW's side. I actually, for the first time in my life, ever, believed what I heard. I respected the man speaking & I was proud of what he was saying.
I grew up at the perfect time. As I was born Vietnam was young but not new. As I entered double digits, Vietnam was ending. 25+ years of relative peace, prosperity & safety (unlike Laura Dern I didn't cry myself to sleep thinking the world could end in a blink). Our military was saving college kikds in Grenada & making Nicaragua safe from the commies. Hell, the commies came in from the cold. I fancied myself as a
liberal republican. Self sufficiency & self government for those who do & can & we can temporarily help out the less fortunate. *gag* We can afford it I thought. It's our duty. I had read the Constitution. I even got most of it. I missed the most blarring part because I had never needed to care about it. It was a document to limit government, not expand socialist agenda's.
I regress.
The point being, I grew up in peace. Politicians were nothing more than a nuisance, a necessary evil. The cold war was won & we had no worries.
GW was another in a long line of twits who wanted to interfere with our lives & give away money to people who didn't deseserve it & make everyone feel good about themselves, In short, he was a pol.
Then 9/11 happened. I believe the man & the President that day took a huge leap forward. He stepped outside his little egocentric closed off world, because of what happened is so huge in our lives. I believe the events forced on us by the highjackers & more importantly, followed by the American people, had a lasting & fundamental affect on GW. ON all of us. It made him a better man & it made him a leader instead of a typical pol.
Of course, he's slipped back into the old ways, as have we all, but I think he is, at the core, the man he always wished he was.
I think GW deserves another 4 years.
Acceptance text
