Sunday, September 26, 2004
If you're familiar with the record of Senator Mark Hatfield, this is one of the most remarkable endorsements of President Bush, yet. It certainly beats Zell Miller, Ed Koch and Ron Silver. Hatfield has been one of the most consistently anti-war votes in the US Senate dating back to Vietnam when he had John Kerry's Winter Soldier hearings entered into the Congressional Record. This endorsement shows that there are still people out there, and not just youngsters, still capable of removing their blinders and taking a fresh look around. Inspiring, really. Read it all. (via Roger L. Simon)
Mark O. Hatfield: For me, choice for president is clear: Bush
As Oregon's governor, I was the only governor in the nation who refused to sign a statement supporting President Johnson's Vietnam War policy.
As a senator, I joined with Sen. George McGovern in an unsuccessful effort to end that war. I was the only senator who voted against both the Democrat and Republican resolutions authorizing the use of force in the 1991 Gulf War.
In my final years in the Senate, I opposed President Clinton's decision to send American troops to Bosnia.
During my 30 years in the Senate, I never once voted in favor of a military appropriations bill.
I know that this record will cause many to wonder why I am such a strong supporter of President Bush and his policy in Iraq. My support is based on the fact that our world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, a day on which we lost more American lives than we did in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
I know from my service in the Senate that Saddam Hussein was an active supporter of terrorism. He used weapons of mass destruction on innocent people and left no doubt that he would do so again. It was crucial to the cause of world peace that he be removed from power...
