I really enjoy reading Craig Paul Roberts. He was in the Treasury Department, and what he writes is often on target.
What was the presidential election about?
In their victory speeches, Vice President Cheney and President Bush claimed a "mandate," "historic victory," and that "America has spoken."
A mandate for what? A victory for what? How spake America?
Pundits have declared that the election was about "moral values." Americans in the red states voted against homosexual marriage and abortion.
Let's hope that this is correct. Otherwise, America is doomed if Bush's reelection is based on his economic and foreign policy record.
Can you imagine our peril if Bush's mandate is for unprecedented trade and budget deficits and job loss? Or for taking the country to war based on incompetence or deception?
Thankfully, the electorate did not give Bush a mandate for getting thousands of Americans killed and maimed for no other reason than the Bush administration's inability to assess the intent and capability of Iraq.
http://www.vdare.com/roberts/041104_mandate
MKC