Soapbox

Typical Blunt Instrument

Vice President Dick Cheney took issue this week with candidate John Kerry’s use of the word “sensitive”. Kerry said that he would take a more strategic and sensitive approach to warfare. Cheney ridiculed Kerry, all but calling him a “girlie-man”. The US does not need sensitivity, Cheney said; it needs the toughness that only he and George Bush can provide.

I suggest that the difference between John Kerry and the Bush/Cheney approach to war and to politics in general is the difference between a scalpel and a baseball bat.

A person can defend themselves with a blade- they can certainly kill with one. But a sharp knife can also be used to tease out a small but deadly spot of cancer and save a person’s life.

A baseball bat can certainly be a handy thing in a dark alley, but it lacks adaptability and nuance. If you try to treat cancer with it, you may kill the patient in the process.

The Bush/Cheney team has taken a blunt-instrument approach to both government and terrorism. They have taken a wild swing on issues such as de-regulation and tax cuts and our environment and the economy are brusied and battered as a result. Education, civil rights and the Constitution have also taken a beating.

Rather than take a strong and sensitive approach to the cancer of terrorism, which would include allowing time for weapons inspections to proceed and fully plan for the reality of occupying a nation, this administration chose to use a Louisville Slugger on Iraq. The result: unbid contracts defrauding taxpayers of billions, lack of an exit plan, chronic supply shortages throughout the war, close to 1,000 Americans dead and the WMD that turned out not to exist. Through their not sensitive, “he-man” approach we captured Sadaam and defeated the under-manned Iraqi army alright, but the cure today seems worse than the disease.

Strength and sensitivity work best when used together, just as do courage and wisdom. Bush/Cheney have indeed shown the American people both strength and courage, but it clearly has not been enough. This November I will vote for John Kerry and John Edwards, to add sensitivity and wisdom to our government in hopes that the cancer can be removed and the patient’s life can be saved.