A Better Man A Better President

– Al Gore Essay, Research Paper

A Better Man, A Better President

Currently our nation is having a hard time choosing whom to elect for our next President. There are certain issues, in my opinion, that point me towards Presidential Candidate Al Gore. Al Gore would make a promising President because of his background in politics, and I prefer his standing on education and abortion to the other possible contenders. He grew up with strong family values and has been involved in politics his entire life. Because Gore understands that our nation has problems with education and abortion, he developed many new programs to help each issue. Gore is a devoted man whom has high goals for the United States of America. In my opinion Al Gore is the ideal president for this nation, and I believe he can make things happen.

Before making a firm decision to make this man President of our country, I imagine it would be appropriate to investigate his background a little more in depth. Al Gore was born on March 31, 1948 at the Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington (Turque 4). Gore grew up in Nashville, Tennessee where his father was a congressional representative (Turque 4). His whole life he was surrounded by politics, and since he was a little boy he dreamed of becoming President (Turque 19). He had a great childhood and his parents taught him to be the best that he could be. In 1970 Gore was shipped to South Vietnam to serve his country. On the other hand George W. Bush, Gore’s opponent, never served in a war. Instead, Bush became the head cheerleader at Phillips Academy in Andover Massachusetts (Minutaglio 185). So the question is, who do you think is more suitable to run our country? I believe I would choose a man who was a war hero over a man who was cheerleader. Gore was always devoted to his country and this “propelled [him] to the House of Representatives at 28 and the Senate at 36 – and the hubris that made him a presidential candidate before he was 40”(Minutaglio 5). Vice President Gore and President Clinton “were packaged as political buddies” in 1992 (Minutaglio 218). They became good friends, and Al Gore ran alongside Clinton during the last two presidential elections in the United States. “Clinton appreciated Gore’s loyalty, including his often spirited introduction”(Minutaglio 224). Gore has a strong, fulfilling history and an even more promising future. Al Gore would be a good choice for President, and hopefully America can count correctly so that this will eventually happen.

If a person handed you a key to success, you can almost be sure it would include handing you a college degree. Education is very important to our society; it links to higher paying jobs, crime, and our economy (Sahr 1). The United States education system is the “leader in higher education of its citizens” throughout the world (Krukebery 7). Presidential candidate Al Gore, who is a Democratic, has many interesting things to say regarding the education issue. He understands that the system needs much care, and he is willing to spend money were it is needed. Gore wants to “make 10,000 dollars of college tuition tax deductible annually . . .176B over ten years for preschool, special ed., and more”(Issues 1). He wants to recruit teachers, improve classrooms, and help failing schools. He stresses early learning, smaller classes, and higher classroom technology. He also came up with a five-point plan, which consists of high school exit exams and the focus on character. This means in order to receive a high school diploma you must take exams that proves your ability in the subject. Gore supports the idea of testing teachers and removing failing teachers from the teaching realm. Gore also supports more student loans so unfortunate students may also receive a higher education and equal opportunities. These issues make his candidacy very strong in my opinion, and they differ a great deal in comparison to his opponent, George W. Bush.

As you can see, Al Gore has a strong program that he believes will help education. Bush does not focus on these same issues, and to be frank he is not a strong believer in spending a lot of federal money on the education system. Bush believes that we, the American people, should “focus on responsibility and parents, not on federal spending”(Issues 4). Bush understands that our education system is struggling, but he does not want to invest money in it. Schools always receive federal funding, but Bush says, “if you get federal money, you must return measurements”(Issues 4). This means that when the government gives money to schools, the schools must pay some of it back. However, if schools need money in the first place, how can they afford to pay back any money to the government? This makes no sense to me, and the government should help American become educated in this ever-growing technological time. I conclude that Al Gore’s education program is far superior to Bush’s plan.

Abortion is another main issue in this enlightening campaign. American has been dealing with abortion since 1821 when the first abortion law was passed (Rein 6). This has been an on going argument for a long time, and many important Supreme Court cases have changed the laws and ideas regarding the abortion issue. Abortion is a touching issue that each candidate must address in a certain way, and Gore knows how to handle this touching debate. Al Gore understands that abortion is a difficult issue and approaches it in a sensitive way. Gore understands that a woman has a right to choose when and where a baby is going to be born. In fact, in January 2000 Gore stated that, “abortion is a question for women, not for [the] government or [the] president”(Issues 1). Gore understands a woman has the “right to choice, regardless of economic circumstances”(Issues 1). Gore is not for abortion or against it; all he wants is for the person to be able to make the right decision for their particular life. He wants to form clinics to help women who have had abortions cope with the pain, if it is present, and teach them how to cope with their choices. Gore expressed that he “would support RU-486, if [it] was proven safe”(Issues 1). For those of you who do not know what RU-486 is, allow me to explain. RU-486 is a pill women can take the morning after having unprotected sex to eliminate the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy. This pill kills the fertilized egg so it can no longer grow into a fetus (Abortion 3). It is not legal for everyone in America yet, but it will soon be if proven safe. Gore wants to make sure that “abortions are safe, legal, and rare”(Issues 1). He believes that there should be “more family planning” instead of making an appointment to receive an abortion. Gore is a caring man who understands the tough choices Americans must make on a daily basis. He tries to connect to people in any way possible, and I feel he would make a caring leader who would do everything in his power to make the American people happy. On the other hand, Bush wants to make people happy too, but be sure that you must subscribe to what he feels should make one happy. Gore wants Americans to have choices instead of demands being placed upon them. Isn’t that what America is all about, making our own choices with our own independent minds? Therefore, I would choose Gore because he will support the American tradition of keeping abortion the people’s choice.

Although Bush and Gore see abortion in the same way, their approaches to this difficult situation are not similar at all. Bush does not agree with abortion and does not support the women’s right to choose. Gore and Bush both do not agree with abortion, but Gore understands the women’s right while Bush does not. Bush thinks that the “approval of RU-486 is wrong”(Issues 1). Bush also believes “every child born and unborn ought to be protected”(Issues 1). Although this statement may be true, who should have the right to decide, the President of the United States or the woman carrying the baby? Bush also believes that no tax money should be spent to eliminate the need for abortion. Is this a feasible solution to eliminate future abortions? Furthermore, Bush does not want to spend any tax money on education or abortion. The new question then is what does he plan on doing with it all? Are these issues not important enough to spend any of the tax- payers money? Gore plans on investing money into the issue of abortion to keep it safe for women who do decide to use it, and he has hopes of instituting facilities that could possibly lead to the prevention of future unwanted pregnancies. So as I see it, although Bush and Gore both oppose abortion, their approaches differ in a very radical way. Bush wants to do away with abortion entirely without offering any ideas on how to eliminate unwanted pregnancies. Gore wants to leave the decision to the people and possibly with proper funding institute new ideas that will alleviate some of these unwanted pregnancies. I believe that this is what an ideal president should do so that the choice will still be the woman’s, after all America is the land of the free!

When you approach the voting booths on Election Day be sure to study the ballot carefully and remember where Al Gore stands on the education and abortion issue. In addition, when you punch in the hole for Gore make sure that you punch it all the way so that the votes are countable. I believe that Gore would make an ideal president due to his feeling on education, abortion, and many other major issues. He comes from a strong family and has an amazing political history, and I feel this entitles him to a fair chance at Presidency. He is the best candidate for the job and you should elect him for the President of the United States. Vote Al Gore for President.