(Will Kerry apologize to Saddam Hussein if he is elected? Will Bush let body counts keep him from unleashing an offensive against the terrorist enclaves?

The following questions aren’t likely to be asked during this debate season, but they are questions that I would certainly like answered by the candidates. If I could be a member of that audience in St. Louis to question President Bush and Senator Kerry, I would want to know how each would respond to these questions:

Senator Kerry:  You and your running mate have continually berated President Bush for attacking Iraq, claiming that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, that Saddam Hussein had no part in the 9-11 attacks, that Saddam Hussein had no ties to terrorists, that Saddam Hussein was not a gathering threat, and that Saddam Hussein was complying with United Nations mandates to disarm. If you are elected to office, will you issue an apology to Saddam Hussein for removing him from the dictatorship of his country, and if subpoenaed to testify by the defense in Saddam Hussein’s trial for alleged atrocities, will you say under oath what you’ve been saying to the press during this campaign to exonerate him of these supposed violations?

President Bush:  There are areas in Iraq that have become safe zones for terrorists and insurgents in some of the major cities. We are being assured with a wink and a nod that as soon as the elections are over you will release United States commanders to annihilate the enemy that hides in these so called “safe zones.” Politically, it is deemed unwise to start a major offensive that could possibly raise the body count just before the election. If a major offensive is unleashed after the November election to eliminate these terrorist enclaves, what will you say to the mothers and fathers of the United States soldiers killed between now and then who are being hammered by these insurgents as we await a convenient political moment to erase this threat?

Senator Kerry:  You claim that President Bush’s tax cuts only benefit the rich. Therefore, we can assume that anyone who received a tax cut from the President’s plan would be considered “rich” by the Kerry administration. Are you willing to assure each American who received a tax cut that as part of the wealthy few in our country they can expect their taxes to go up if you are elected?

President Bush:  You stated early in this election cycle that you support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. Individual states are introducing bills to define marriage as a bond between “only a man and a woman.” Many of these bills are passing by seventy percent (70%), indicating that a constitutional amendment could garner the support of enough states as quickly as congress could pass it. After the November election, will you indeed submit a constitutional amendment or is the rhetoric simply a bone you are throwing to the religious right as you attempt to solidify your base?

I have many more questions for our candidates, but I have a feeling we are only going to get more of the same from both the media and the candidates as this election unfolds. Of course, anyone who would elect a president based on a ninety minute interview or debate isn’t very intelligent anyway. Perhaps each voter should examine the records of these candidates and assume that each will continue in the direction their political lives have taken.