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Just 127 Days Left: Beyond Iraq

By Sarah Stodola

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Continuing the tradition established by such films as Freaky Friday, The Parent Trap, and Like Father Like Son, this week Mark Grueter and Sarah Stodola have switched places.  On Friday, Grueter was the guy who does that Culturally Speaking column, and just for today, Stodola is that gal who covers the presidential campaign on Mondays.  The difference is, they are not twins and there is no father/son or mother/daughter relationship involved and this didn't happen because they hate each other and need to learn to value their relationship.

They'd be more than happy to discuss the sale of the film rights...

It’s not secret – in fact it is unanimously accepted – that Iraq is going to be the number one issue during this presidential campaign season. However, at this point it seems that the positions of John Kerry and President Bush in this regard are not all that different. Indeed, democrats and republicans alike agree that regardless of the validity of entering into this war in the first place, now that it has been undertaken, it must be seen through. In addition, by the time the next term of the presidency begins, the Iraq situation may well be somewhat of a moot point, depending on what happens in the next sixth months or so.

But other issues – including those domestic concerns related to taxes, education, campaign finance, the domestic economy, healthcare, and abortion – will certainly remain hot topics for years to come. Unlike the Iraq war, which is in some ways a done deal, decisions by the future president in other realms will – it is a fact – have a direct effect on all Americans.

Bush’s track record with domestic issues has been nothing short of appalling. The same old counterintuitive logic has been applied to taxes: I don’t think you’ll find an economist in the world today who would promote the “starve the beast” strategy, and yet under Bush, its classic maneuvers have been enacted. Tax cuts have been substantial for the rich and negligible for the middle and lower classes, taking important funding away from the national government. It’s an old tactic, and one that has never proved successful.

Also under Bush, the budget surplus has been wiped away and turned into a sizable deficit, the trade deficit has increased, the healthcare situation in this country has grown even worse, with costs getting out of hands and individuals expected to cover more and more of payments on their own. Abortion rights have been threatened, and in some cases denied, state and local governments have been burdened with financial responsibilities they are incapable of handling, and Social Security has come to the brink of being privatized.

And then we have funding for the arts. A big deal was made of Bush’s commitment to increase funding to the National Endowment for the Arts by $18 million next year. Initially, even I was impressed that the president so much as acknowledged the NEA in a positive capacity. However, it turns out that $15 million of that money is reserved for an American Masterpieces “initiative” in which Laura Bush will head a program that showcases “classic” American art. What this means is that virtually none of the spending increase will go to those artists working in America today, and it is a near-certainty that the work chosen in this initiative will promote conservative values. It is doubtful that experimentation will be rewarded, not in the work of artists past and certainly not in the work of today’s working artists.

A look at John Kerry’s voting record as a Senator, on the other hand, shows that he stands in opposition to Bush in most of the areas mentioned above. In addition, he has supported campaign finance reform. Also of note, he wants to return some of the tax burden to the nation’s wealthiest citizens. And, although Kerry’s position on funding for the arts isn’t yet clear, he has supported the NEA in the past.

While the problems in Iraq drag on and escalate, it is important to keep other issues in mind – even if we manage to end up with a peaceful, democratic, happy Iraq, after all, nothing is really taken care of if we don’t have the same in America. How anyone trusts Bush to get this job done, at this point, is beyond me. And whatever one thinks of Kerry, it’s hard to make a case that he could be worse than Bush on domestic issues.

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Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 is perhaps the first film in history that may actually impact the outcome of the race. It broke box office records this weekend by becoming the highest grossing documentary of all time – in just three days of release. Despite concerns that the documentary will only appeal to those who are already in agreement with it, 9/11 still has a certain amount of power to persuade voters. Since in recent history only about half of the population has bothered to turn out to vote in its most important election, a rising of the emotions could sway the vote in Kerry’s favor precisely by bringing out the liberal nonvoters.

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The Green Party has declined to endorse Ralph Nader in this year's race. Nader, of course, never had a chance at the presidency anyway, but it is highly likely that his presence in the last election took votes away from Al Gore and ultimately was responsible for Bush’s victory. This time around, it looks like he won’t be much of an issue, despite his endorsement by the Reform Party.

Click here for last week's column.

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Sarah Stodola is the Managing Editor of Me Three.  She can be contacted at sstodola@methree.net.

© 2004 Me Three