The Berlin Reporter (Berlin, NH)   Saturday, January 22, 2000

Why our choice is Bradley and McCain

    We don't always comment on the New Hampshire presidential primary, but this year's has been one of the most interesting since Jimmy Carter ran for office.  So here are our thoughts.

    Before he became vice president, we thought highly of Al Gore.  We followed his efforts to deal with cable tv issues carefully, and we were impressed with his interest in promoting something we knew very little about then--the internet.  Gore came off as honest, sincere and concerned about working people.

    Now we feel a bit different.  Gore seems to admire and use the tactics of his boss, Slick Willie, a man who has a hard time telling the truth.  After watching all of the debates to date, as well as speeches and campaign activities covered by C-Span on tv, we have become convinced that Bill Bradley is the more honest and ethical of the two.

    We can't figure out how Gore can claim an ounce of credit for the strong national economy, and we don't have a great deal of confidence in how he would react in an internation crisis with North Korea, China, or terrorists from the volatile nations in the Middle East.

    As we sit back in our easy chair in front of the fireplace these cold January nights and think about the future, we feel far more comfortable with Bill Bradley.  Now Bradley may not measure up as a president to Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom we remember, but we do feel he might prove to have the backbone and ability of a Harry Truman.  We also see Bradley as the superior man in the oval office in time of crisis.  So in the primary for the Democrats, we feel most comfortable with Bradley.

    As for the Republicans primary, we now tilt toward Joh McCain, who is painfully honest and will, among other things, look out for North Country veterans.  We also drift at times toward Steve Forbes, who is even more independent of conventional Washington thinking, who wants to dump over the IRS cart and reform the tax program from the ground up.  As for handling an international crisis, we fell fairly safe with either man, although McCain might do the best.

    We just can't warm up to the others in the race.  We are put off by Bush's goofy grin and his tendency towards vacuous answeres when debating.  Hatch, Keyes and that little fellow--what's-his-name--don't have a chance, and probably shouldn't.

    So we pick McCain and Bradley as our choices for the race for president in November.
 

Reprinted by Permission of The Berlin Reporter, Howard James Editor and Publisher.