Three Reasons Why President Bush Is The Man Of The Hour
By Gregory J. Rummo (02/03/04)
WHEN PRESIDENT BUSH delivered his State of the Union last month, three major topics stood out in my mind—the family, homeland security, and the economy. Clearly, all are interrelated and interdependent.
The family is the fundamental building block of society. Those who would dare alter its makeup are guilty of attempting to undermine the foundations of western civilization.
God wasted no time introducing the concept of the family. Coming centuries before the institution of human government and several millennia before the church, He was very precise about its nature, saying to the first man and woman He created: “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
President Bush emphasized the importance of the traditional family, reminding us that a “strong America must also value the institution of marriage. I believe we should respect individuals as we take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization.”
Dr. James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family had words of praise for the president’s stand: “I am immensely encouraged by President Bush’s unequivocal support for the sanctity of marriage. The President believes, as does the overwhelming majority of Americans, that marriage is the exclusive union of one man and one woman.”
The president also addressed the other great threat to western civilization—terrorism, stating the government’s “greatest responsibility…[was] the active defense of the American people.”
“Twenty-eight months have passed since September 11th, 2001—over two years without an attack on American soil. And it is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting—and false.”
9-11 was the defining moment in the 21st-century. It subsequently shaped world events and our view of them. It has become the driving force behind our politics, most notably the Democrat’s ambition to oust President Bush from the White House in 2004.
9/11 has become the determiner of the US’s foreign policy. Its memory lingers, stoking our fears, blurring our dreams and leaving us to wonder about our future.
Is America really safer now than it was under Bill Clinton? That depends on what the meaning of the word “safer” is. Clinton failed to confront evil and perhaps we ‘felt’ safer because we were ignorant of the cancer that silently raged half a world away.
But in 2000, this country decided it needed a second opinion. Dr. Bush’s scalpel has been sharper than some would prefer but the disease has been exposed and unfortunately has spread farther than we ever imagined. To end the treatment now would almost certainly spell death for the patient.
The president also spoke about our economy. “In the last three years, adversity has also revealed the fundamental strengths of the American economy. We have come through recession, and terrorist attack, and corporate scandals, and the uncertainties of war. And because you acted to stimulate our economy with tax relief, this economy is strong, and growing stronger.”
Bush inherited an economy teetering on the brink of a recession. After two declining quarters of productivity in late 2000, the first quarter of his presidency saw GDP turn negative, hardly the fault of a man who had only been inaugurated 2-1/2 months earlier. Two quarters later came the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
That the economy only experienced a mild recession and nothing worse has been the real miracle.
America has much to be thankful for at such a time in her history that she has a man of God at the helm. Solomon would remind us: “Righteousness exalts a nation.”
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