The Donald for 2004. No, I do not mean Mr. Trump, the real estate mogul of New York, Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Palm Beach. I mean that I give my personal endorsement to none other than Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, the current secretary of defense, for the presidential nomination of 2004.
I choose to differ from my learned colleagues at The Hatchet, who endorsed Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina (“Our choice: John Edwards,” Feb. 2, p. 4). I must confess that I am baffled at their endorsement. Sen. Edwards, while probably well-meaning and definitely of good humor, is a one-trick pony that has only managed to win the nomination ballot in his own state. Sen. Edwards, other than appearing on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” has successfully managed to not distinguish himself in any great regard from the other candidates other than the fact that he looks young for his age. Sen. Edwards is not presidential material. Secretary Rumsfeld is.
Our nation looked to our leaders for hope during the days after September 11, 2001. Secretary. Rumsfeld was a pillar on which we could lean and draw confidence. He had a confident demeanor and frankness in the way he laid out his initiatives to defend the country without compromising the military tactics that made things better. We had government that was working to defend us, and Mr. Rumsfeld was at the forefront.
He has that piercing stare that cuts through the quick of reporters; that steadfast resolve which makes all the Democratic candidates look meek at their strongest moments. No amount of that signature image of Kerry looking up and to his right – which is supposed to remind us of the similar famous image of John F. Kennedy – can convince me that this “moderate” politico from the Bay State is made of sterner stuff than Mr. Rumsfeld.
However, there is one thing. I realize that Mr. Rumsfeld could not win a presidential nomination. Aside from the obvious facts – he does not care to run, his boss is running for a second term with the undivided support of the Republicans, and there is enough anti-war sentiment out there to paint him as warmonger if he did run – the fact is that American politicians have become wishwashy centrists, always having to say the “right” thing just to secure the votes. That’s sad, in a way. What we need is the kind of conviction politics that made Ronald Reagan and, even more so, Franklin Delano Roosevelt such household names. Donald Rumsfeld is a man of conviction, without the poll-pushing, conviction-lacking, shiftless nature that is the typical automaton of the Washington political machine. He is a man of sterner stuff, which is why I think we need Mr. Rumsfeld now more than ever to be our nation’s next president. Vote for The Donald this November.
–The writer is a junior majoring in political science.
