I don't support Bush at all, but we need to be honest about some of those poll items.
Budget deficit: The only reason Clinton ever had a budget surplus is because of stock market bubble. It is no coincidence that not until 1996 (the beginning of irrationl exuberence in the stock market) did we make much progress in reducing the deficit.
WRONG! his willigness to tax at the rate necessary to cover expenditures was the chief reason
Current account deficit: This has been a problem for a while, due largely to our trade deficit. Unfortuanately, it is now in vogue for the "left" to support free trade, which is leading to this large deficit. Neither Kerry nor Bush will do anything os substance to stop it.
agreed, but if kerry invests more in energy policy and other noteworthy causes, it could help reduce long term trade deficit
Outsourcing: What would any of the candidates have done to stop this? Nothing.
true, but at least kerry will attempt to tinker with the tax code and reduce insurance costs to help the problem.
Baby-boom retirement: Unfortuanately Kerrry would only make this problem worse by increasing spending in Medicare to "improve" (read: spend more) Bush's prescription drug plan. Ironically, Bush's plan is going to be very expensive, but will allow the Medicare system to drag on a few years longer that Kerry's plan would. Both plans will bust Medicare long before I will see a dime.
Kerry also wants to use government bargaining power to lower drug costs, this could at least offset his "improvements"
Health care: Anything short of single-payer will only make things worse and not even Howard Dean (the REAL Democrat) was willing to come close to proposing that.
I dont think the public is ready for single=payer, but i think kerry's plan is a step in the right direction
I'm just trying to make the point that neither Kerry nor Bush will do anything to address the fundamental issues facing our economy. So I just can't see what all the hype is about.
By the way, has anybody been watching the third party presidential debates. Now there's a contrast!