Note to President Bush from an Undecided Voter (ME!)...

Dear Mr. President,

I understand that integrity and good sportsmanship are out of style in politics these days. I also understand that we, the electorate, often forfeit our right to complain about the nastiness since we frequently reward the worst "Bad Boy" with the political prize.

However I, one of those 10% of undecided voters to whom ad and campaign messages are supposedly aimed, find it WAY past annoying that I am hearing nothing out of the Bush camp regarding real ideas about how you plan to dig our country out of the nightmare that has been the last four years in America. I am sure you are probably trying to tell us, it's just that the War Record junk is drowning you out. Conservative pundits keep assuring us that you have a plan. But evidently, they are also unsure about the specifics since all they are talking about is non-sense about John Kerry's war medals--and it's getting more ridiculous by the day.

I voted for you in 2000 despite reservations I had regarding your readiness for the position, since I was more sure that I was not ready to deal with Al Gore and the wild-cards who were calling his political shots. I loved and respected your dad. More importantly, though, I know the important role that staff plays in a presidency and I was certain that if you started veering off-course, Colin Powell and other reasonable Republicans would be there to reel you back in. Little did I know that Powell and his ilk would be marginalized by hot-heads like Karl Rove (who scares most of us half to death) and you would follow the most radical members of your party down a road that the majority of Americans find unsettling, at best.

However, since John Kerry's ultra-liberal voting record (NOT his war medals and NOT his supposed "flip-flops") make those of us who are undecided uncomfortable, GOOD NEWS: You're still in the running! BAD NEWS: You are freaking us out with the constant harping regarding the much-substantiated record of a WAR HERO!!!!

Here's what we know:

John Kerry--War Hero who won 3 Purple Hearts.
John Edwards--Too young to go to war

George W. Bush--Rich boy waiver for a questionable stint in the Texas National Guard
Dick Cheney--Five draft deferments because, in his words, he "had other interests"
John Ashcroft--SEVEN draft deferments, all granted AFTER he graduated from college

MY CONCERNS? The gross hypocrisy of your arguments (since most of you bailed on combat duty) and the relevance of your comments with regard to the Presidency. If I were you, I would be harping on my own strengths and my own ideas and shout out my message for strengthening America rather than looking like a hypocrite bent on justifying your own inadequacies by tearing down other's greatest strengths.

We undecided's aren't swayed TOWARD you by partisans like Fox News, Sean Hannity, the ultimate hedonist hypocrite Rush Limbaugh, and others. We also are SO unimpressed with Rove and others whom we feel are selling you short since, if you have the brightest ideas for leading our country, you don't need to compromise your soul in the pursuit of political favor. WE want to hear YOUR ideas...and we want to know HOW you plan to bring them to fruition.

Wow us, Mr. President, with a message of Hope rather than Hate. Inspire us with a show of Leadership rather than a litany of seemingly libelous messages. Rid yourself of those "consultants" who are sailing you down the wrong river. And, above all, get out of the gutter, brush off, and move on. Be a Tall Poppy rather than a Weed. Choose to use your power for good and make the rest of us feel good about following your lead. If you don't turn your message around, you won't have to worry about your legacy--others will have sealed it for you.

Sincerely,
Pink Poppy
An Undecided Voter

P.S.: Even IF Kerry's wounds were sustained in friendly fire, is that supposed to make him less a hero? Many of us who have lost family members as a result of friendly fire in combat do NOT take too kindly to the suggestion (by those who have never faced combat at all) that "Friendly-Fire" wounds lessen the greatness of the sacrifice. Our war dead had the guts to go and carry out their duty. And you?