Monday, December 18, 2000		News Net

Good Bush, bad Bush
by Kuljit Bains

LIKE it or lump it, Gore is in the bush and Bush is on to the House, which must now be preparing for a new coat of White.

The facts: Name — George W. Bush; born — July 6, 1946; home state — Texas (Midland and Houston); wife — Laura Welch Bush (a former teacher and librarian); present occupation — Governor (46th) of the State of Texas; lives in Governor’s mansion, Austin, Texas; children — 18-year-old twin daughters (Barbara and Jenna); pets — dog Spot and cats India and Ernie.

Where do get these bytes for yourself? Well, the man you can get at www.georgewbush.com/ and the party (Republican National Committee) at http://www.rnc.org/.

Now Bush is a man who has been as much ridiculed as he is liked by some Americans for his affability. So where does one begin. Being Indians, we’ll concern ourselves with his official business first and take a serious look at things. To know where he stands on record, one may rely on the two official sites mentioned above.

There are links to various issues, but the one on foreign policy should draw us first. One statement we find is, "The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty would permanently tie the hands of our military, while rogue nations would be able to continue to test and deploy nuclear missiles." So India can probably expect lesser pressure on account of the CTBT. Specifically on India, he has this to say: "India is now debating its future and its strategic path, and the United States must pay it more attention. We should establish more trade and investment with India as it opens to the world. And we should work with the Indian government, ensuring it is a force for stability and security in Asia. This should not undermine our longstanding relationship with Pakistan, which remains crucial to the peace of the region."

He is cautious on China: China is a competitor, not a strategic partner. "We must deal with China without ill-will – but without illusions."

One of the various pages prepared on the online media is by The Guardian: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/US_election_race/. Its comprehensive in that it has links to Bush, Gore, their baiters, as well as its own analytical articles. There is also a look at the likely key figures in the Bush government, Dick Cheney (Mr Bush’s running mate) and General Colin Powell (Secretary of State) being the most prominent as far as the rest of the world is concerned.

So much for the "good" sites, but surfing the Net for Bush without a look at the not-so-reverential sites cannot be complete. Sites like www.sonofbush.com/, www.georgewbushspeaks.com/ or http://www.gwbush.com/ could well give you the shivers thinking "Is this the man some would call the ‘President of the world?’" All Bush policies stand contradicted on these sites and his sincerity is fairly convincingly challenged. But certain sites could even have you in splits, particularly, http://www.georgewbushspeaks.com/.

One of the quotes from such sites: "The fundamental question is, ‘Will I be a successful President when it comes to foreign policy?’ I will be, but until I’m the President, it’s going to be hard for me to verify that I think I’ll be more effective." But you’ll see. "The only things that I can tell you is that every case in Texas I have reviewed I have been comfortable with the innocence or guilt of the person that I’ve looked at. I do not believe we’ve put a guilty ... I mean innocent person to death in the state of Texas." But "I promise you that I’m gonna talk about the ideal world. I’ve read—I understand reality. If you’re asking me as the President, would I understand reality, I do." So that you and...and good night, my fellow ‘mericans, and pray, pray real hard."

In the end, all we can do is pray it is the best man that has won!