Why I am Voting for
George W. Bush
I am concerned about the motives of politicians. Most want political office to wield political power. That bit that Jesus said, “Let him who desires to be first among you, be the slave of all?” You very rarely see that in the first among us. George Washington was such a man. Some of the other founders and presidents were, also. But they are few and far between.
After the Columbine Massacre, Al Gore came to Littleton, Colorado, and spoke at the Memorial Service for the Columbine victims. I got to hear him and he sounded really good, like a Christian. He had all the right catch phrases, and talked about growing up in the Bible Belt. If I didn’t know something about the man himself, I wouldn’t have been able to tell from his speech that he WAS NOT a Christian.
I had the same concerns about George W. Is he just talking the talk to get the position of president? Is it all a lie?
But then I began to realize that he kept doing things which were not calculated to get him the presidency. This showed me that his greatest concern was for the good of the country, and for not his own personal power or prestige.
For example, he picked Dick Cheney as his running mate. This brings him the great state of Wyoming, with all its massive amount of electoral votes, all 2 or 3 of them, LOL.
All August I heard about Al Gore’s possible choices for VP, and how this one will bring him this state’s many electoral votes, and that one will bring that block of voters. But George W. chose a man who would bring him nothing to win the presidency. He did not a choose a minority or a woman, or a person of non-Christian faith, or a young person, as EVERY OTHER candidate has done, even Pat Buchanan -- all choices calculated to get them brownie points with the press and bring a block of voters to win the election -- but chose instead according to Biblical principles a righteous man, a proven leader, and an elder, for the purpose of wise counsel once in office.
I learned from a friend that now lives in Texas, but who grew up in my hometown, that George W. was embroiled a few years back in a controversy because he made public confession of his Christian faith while in office. Somehow the topic got to who would go to heaven, and George W. said that he believed that only those who have accepted the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ would enter heaven. This created a big brouhaha, with the editorials running something like, God decides who gets into heaven, not the governor of Texas, and so on. You can look this up in the Houston Chronicle archives, I think it was in 1998.
Now if he were playing a political game, rather than being sincere, why wouldn’t he rather try to straddle the fence?
My friend also told me that when he decided to run for president, George W. gave 100% of his salary as governor of Texas back to the state of Texas, since the Lt. Governor would be taking his place with most of his duties while he was out campaigning. It seems only the right thing to do, after all, but why do it if you’re in it for all you can get for yourself? It’s not like anyone knows about this decision, so he didn’t do it to appear “good.” No one outside of Texas knows about it, and the Bush campaign isn’t publicizing it.
I bet that when Clinton ran for president as governor of Arkansas, he did NOT return to the state his salary as governor. I bet that Al Gore has kept every penny of his salary as VP of the United States, using tax-payer’s money to campaign for president.
Most Texas Democrats love George W. and are supporting him all out. Why? I think it’s because the man is sincere.
I believe he has the potential to be a great president. He has the character shared by the great presidents of the past, which, when it all boils down, is Christian character.
And after spending all summer writing about the umpteen kings of the Middle Ages, George W. has qualities that I’ve seen in Theodoric the Great, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, and Rudolf of Hapsburg. It is interesting that all the greatest kings of the Middle Ages were the Christians who governed according to Biblical principles, and who were not in it for themselves, but for the good of their people. The worst kings were Clintons: power-hungry, who squandered the resources of the people for personal glory.
Texas is also one of the better states for homeschooling. We have a Colorado State Homeschool Day at the Capitol in Denver every spring, and our family just happened to go this past spring. George W. happened to be in Denver the same day, which we had no idea about before we got there, and his representative spoke to the crowd of about 1500 on the steps of the capitol. W. supports homeschooling, and will continue to support it. I am convinced of that.
The Democrats, on the other hand, want to limit the traditional freedom to home school that we have enjoyed. (See the posted articles at Election 2000.)
This is why I believe that George W. Bush is sincere, and I will be voting for him come November. It is true that we are in this world and not of it, and politics can’t save us -- government can’t make this world a better place. That is for us to do as individuals. But consider this:
“Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.” -- Exodus 18:21
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” -- Proverbs 29:2
If righteous leaders make a nation rejoice, as it says in Proverbs, and we have been given the power to choose our leaders, then I am going to choose the most righteous one that I can. One can’t get more righteous than the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to those that trust in His grace. :-)
Christine Miller
P.S. About school vouchers: I am against them. But consider this: most legislators that favor vouchers have not even considered that homeschoolers are against them. It comes as a shock to them to discover our opposition. Let us put God’s man in office, and then inform Congress why we would prefer tax credits for homeschooling expenditures rather than a voucher check.