If the president is re-elected, ?We will continue to fight the good fight during what we think is the dismantling of our democracy,? Katrina van den Heuvel of The Nation told Kurtz. So much for bringing us all together.
Besides, whichever candidate wins next week, he?ll have won a genuinely democratic election. If van den Heuvel wants to see a dismantling of democracy, she should look toward the east.
For example, Belarus recently held a referendum on whether or not to make Alexander Lukashenko the country?s de facto president-for-life. As Jackson Diehl reported in the Oct. 25 Washington Post, exit polls showed the proposition failed. But Belarusian authorities claimed it passed with 77 percent of the vote, and Russia quickly announced its support.
Sadly, this may be the final time Belarusians are allowed to vote for anything meaningful. They may soon find themselves once again a part of Russia. And don?t forget that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to consolidate his power at the expense of local governors. So much for democracy.
Finally, Elaine Kamarck, a former Clinton aide now at Harvard, declared that a second Bush term would mark ?the beginning of the end of American greatness.?
Well, let?s face facts: This election isn?t going to diminish America?s greatness. No election could do that.
One reason for that is we enjoy the freedom of speech -- which allows our loony lefties to say outrageous things in an influential newspaper. On the other hand, the Islamo-facists want everyone to shut up, dress a certain way and worship a certain way.
The United States is a unique force for good in the world. Our freedom will eventually defeat their restrictiveness.
No, this isn?t Russia. And that?s exactly why our enemies -- whether those abroad or right here in our midst -- fear and hate us so much.