… nd worked with him during Cheney’s years at the Pentagon. Cheney was not President Bush’s first choice to be defense secretary. His initial pick, Sen. John Tower, withdrew after it became clear he could not win Senate confirmation. Cheney quickly established himself in the Pentagon.
When the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Michael J. Dugan, talked to reporters in unusual detail about U. S. war plans in the Persian Gulf in September 1990, Cheney said he went too far and fired him. But Cheney, the former politician and Washington insider, also has a deft diplomatic style that was typified during the Gulf War, again, when he flew to Saudi Arabia to convince King Fahd that allowing U.
S. forces into his kingdom would be wise. In 1995, Cheney became chairman and chief executive officer of Dallas-Based Halliburton Corp. , one of the world’s leading engineering and construction firms focused on oil companies. Under Cheney’s guidance, the company’s stock price and profits have soared, as has Cheney’s personal portfolio.
In 1998, he made $2. 2 million in salary and controlled another $10 million in Halliburton stock. He is also a director of several large corporations, including Procter & Gamble, Union Pacific, and Electronic Data Systems. The biggest question about Cheney may be his health.
His 1978 heart attack was the first of three and in 1988 he had a quadruple bypass. Cheney remains physically active, and his heart problems do not seem to have slowed him down — he continues to go on hikes that last for days and fly-fishing trips. One skeleton that could hurt a Bush-Cheney ticket is the ever-constant specter of the Vietnam War. Cheney received five student and marriage deferments of service during the war.
He told The Washington Post in 1989, ”I had other priorities in the ’60 s than military service… I don’t regret the decisions I made. I complied fully with all the requirements of the statutes, registered with the draft when I turned 18. Had I been drafted, I would have been happy to serve.’ ‘Perhaps the most important factor in making a choice for either party is the candidate’s stands on issues affecting voters. I will discuss and analyze six specific issues, education, healthcare, abortion, environment and energy, gun control and tax plans. In education, the implementation of vouchers has become an important issue.
While Gore strongly opposes vouchers, believing that the money used for them should be given to aid improvement of public schools, Bush favors them. His plan for vouchers would require a three year waiting period for any action to then take place. Concerning class sizes, Gore supports federal initiatives to decrease class sizes at all grade levels. Bush signed a Texas law allowing districts to opt out of class-size limits. He argued that class size should be determined by the district. Gore opposes education block grants that would allow schools to shift funding like Title I from neediest students.
He supports hiring two million new teachers, raising standards for students, teachers and schools and universal pre-K. Bush places Title I at risk by pledging to restore local control by converting more than 60 federal programs into block grants. On the issue of college affordability, Gore would make up to 10, 000 of college tuition tax-deductible, helping parents and students save tax-free for college costs. Bush would expand “Education Savings Accounts” by increasing the the annual contribution limit from $500 to $5000. As they do concerning issues about education, Gore and Bush differ greatly in their views on healthcare. While Gore supports a Patients’ Bill of Rights, Bush opposes it.
Gore opposes cuts in Medicare, and will use the federal budget surplus to ensure the stability of the Medicare program and guarantee prescription drugs to seniors. If elected, Bush would cut Medicare by $350 billion and end the federal guarantee of funding. His tax cuts leave no money to shore up the Medicare system. Gore supports universal health care while Bush opposes it. Gore opposes the privatization of social security, while Bush supports it.
Gore proposed a 10-year $225 billion Medicare plan that includes a prescription drug benefit with free coverage for low-income recipients. Bush proposes providing prescription drug benefits as an option under his $158 billion Medicare reform. He would allow states to voluntarily provide drug coverage for low-income retirees until his reform is complete. As illustrated with healthcare as an example, the candidates strongly disagree on almost every issue.
Among women voters, the issue of abortion has become an important concern in the upcoming election. When each candidate was questioned on whether they would only nominate Supreme Court Justices who share their views on abortion, Vice-President Gore responded by saying he would, “always protect a woman’s right to choose.” Governor George W. Bush said he would nominate strict constructionists, also known as justices sympathetic to abortion restrictions. He also opposes the federal of the abortion pill RU-486, while Gore supports the pill.
Al Gore had continually stressed the importance of the environment and issues concerning the nation’s energy policies. His ten year plan of $150 billion is dedicated to obtaining a cleaner environment and ways to obtain energy. This includes tax credits for buying every-efficient new homes and cleaner vehicles and $68 billion in incentives for cleaner power plants. He supported tapping the petroleum reserve to ease the nation’s continually climbing gas prices. Governor Bush opposed this.
The major issue Gore and Bush have clashed on has been whether or not to drill in the Alaskan refuge. While Governor Bush supported this drilling, Vice-President Gore adamantly opposed it. While Vice-President Gore has been a long time advocate of strict restrictions concerning gun control, Governor Bush’s perspective on the issue differs greatly. He believes that United States citizens that have proven themselves responsible enough to bear arms, a right dictated in the constitution, should be allowed to do so. In his opinion, the regulation of firearms should be left to the individual states. If elected, Governor Bush proposes to use $4.
296 trillion of the 10-year budget surplus on tax cuts, programs, interest, and Social Security commitment. His accusation that Vice-President Gore has “fuzzy math” is quite the opposite. He is the one who has been said to have overspent the federal budget surplus. Gore proposes to use a $500 billion package to encompass tax relief for tuition, health insurance, retirement, etc. Al Gore’s record as a Congressman, Senator, Presidential Candidate, and Vice-President of the United States has served to portray the strong leader and individual he is. Although I disagree adamantly with Vice-President Gore on the issue of abortion, I support each and every one of his stands on the other issues.
I am strongly pro-life, so I could not possibly agree with his pro-choice policy concerning abortion. I am also pro-life in issues concerning the death penalty. If I were able to vote, he would win my vote. Ideal, there would be a perfect candidate. However, this situation does not exist. I disagree with so many of Governor Bush’s policies, particularly those concerning gun control, healthcare, the economy, taxes, and abortion, that it makes it almost impossible for me to vote for him.
For me, it is clear that Gore is working more for middle class families, a group in which I am most likely going to spend the rest of my life. On the other hand, Bush seems to be concerned only with the very rich or very poor. For me to compromise two issues I feel so strongly about, portrays how important I believe Gore’s stands on the other issues are. Also, I feel experience gives him an edge over Bush. His voting record in Congress, the Senate and as Vice-President indicate the results we can expect if he is elected president. Although Vice-President Gore supports the death penalty, the public has not seen any direct connection to it with him personally.
On the other hand, Governor Bush has shown the American people his stand on the death penalty in his governing of Texas with the highest death penalty rate in the country, we can also expect that as President, he would not work to abolish the death penalty. For me, voting is a chance to voice one’s opinions and take part in a decision that will affect millions of people for the rest of their lives. This is a great privilege I hope to take part in in the next election.