Kerry for President. While we're at it, let's dump Bad Dad

I'm sorting through a lot of emotions about this upcoming election. I do believe, as many have said, that this is the "most important election of our lifetime." What I believe is based on my upbringing, my experiences, and my "frame," to use the words of Lakoff. That said, I'm going to apply a framework to why I'm voting for John Kerry on Tuesday and why I believe the man will be the 44th president of the United States. Think of this as Why I Would Never Vote for a Bad Dad.

Good dads don't lie and then lie to cover up lies. George Bush is a bad dad. He lied about WMD in Iraq; he lied when he tried to link Saddam Hussein and 9/11; he lied when he said the economy is getting better; he lied when he said he'd be a "compassionate conservative." Good dads make good decisions; but more importantly they are honest. No one wants to have the Jon Lovitz liar character from SNL for a dad. John Kerry is honest and ethical. He thinks before he acts (the very definition of ethics). George Bush acts, then creates situational ethics to suit his actions. Lies, damn lies, and George Bush.

Good dads don't use their anger to put their kids in harm's way. George Bush started a fight with the world. He's like one of those dads with a nasty temper who goes to the block party, gets drunk, and starts a fight with a neighborhood dad, shouting epithets at everyone. Then he leaves. Meanwhile, his kids have to deal for the rest of the year with being picked on, beaten up, and shunned in the neighborhood. Good dads think holistically. We have to live on this planet a long time. John Kerry knows that and speaks consistently about world cooperation.

Good dads don't send other peoples' kids to fight his fight. A good dad doesn't start a fight and then sacrifice other peoples' kids to the bullies. George Bush has two draft-age daughters. If he thinks the war in Iraq is that important, why aren't they there? I have a nearly 17-year-old son who will have to register with the Selective Service within the next 13 months. I don't want him to go to war in Iraq (or anywhere else George Bush might "pre-emptively" strike). I know John Kerry, who actually went to war instead of evading one, would think about that. (I also told my other two boys a few years ago we'd never have another Vietnam because we're too smart now and people wouldn't put up with it. I was sadly wrong about half this country.)

Good dads care about their neighbors' jobs and healthcare and livelihoods. I have many neighbors who lost their jobs in the last year or two. And I live in an economically advantaged area. Now everyone is a "consultant" after they can't find a job for a year - they're off the unemployment rolls. Good dads help people. They make connections. They make the entire area safe so that we don't have to a build a bubble around our lives. George Bush isn't on our side, he's on the side of the rich - the robber barons of our modern lives such as Halliburton. That's great for his neighborhood, but not great for everyone else. When John Kerry says he'll fight for the middle class he means it (and it's disingenuous for the Bushies to comment about Sen. Kerry's wealth as if that disqualifies him; George Bush is also a multimillionaire).

Good dads can imagine that others have different viewpoints. George Bush applies the "my way or the highway" approach to everything he touches: a woman's right to choose, same-sex marriage, religion or the choice to have no religion. Good dads give their kids perspective; bad dads like George Bush say "my way is the only way, and if they're not with us they're against us." John Kerry cares about the Constitution and he cares about people both before they're born and after they're born.

Good dads don't bring children into this world only to kill them when they do bad. George Bush is a really bad dad here. He professes to care about a mass of cells in a test that might become a baby. He is against a woman's right to choose, much like the rotten husband who forces his wife to have his baby to prove his virility, only to abandon the baby the minute it's born. George Bush cares about unborn babies, but he put to death 134 prisoners as governor of Texas. Is, as he says, "All life is precious under God"? It would be funny if it weren't so ironic and tragic.

Good dads paid attention in science class. Good dads know that the earth revolves around the sun. Good dads know that we must invest in scientific research, like stem cell research, to make scientific breakthroughs. Good dads know that the earth must be preserved for future generations, rather than applying George Bush's human dominion over nature, where all the earth's resources are Biblically-endorsed to be used and consumed, no matter the future. John Kerry paid attention in science class at Yale while George Bush was building beer bongs.

Good dads care about what will happen with their grandchildren and their grandchildrens' grandchildren. We don't own this planet, we're here for only a little sliver of time. Good dads care about what happens not only to take care of their immediate family, but what will happen to their family's families. What would have happened had our predecessors not made the investments (through taxes) to build roads and schools and infrastructure? What kind of country would America be if we had applied the "too bad, so sad, sucks to be you" mentality 100 years ago? We'd be some third world backwater instead of the most powerful nation on earth. Good dads know that we cannot leave our children and grandchildren to deal with the sins of the father. This includes staggering debt, lack of investment in moving all Americans forward, and creating programs like "Leave No Child Behind" while, in fact, leaving whole segments of our country behind.

All that said, I say John Kerry for President. Let's get rid of George Bush as our Bad Dad. No one wants an abusive dad around.