The Next Four Years

The next four years will provide this nation with many challenges and opportunities. Few American political leaders have either the vision or political courage of President Bush, which means we will have a rare opportunity to enact reforms that can succeed in achieving lasting success for ours and future generations. We must not let this opportunity slip away, for opportunities such as this one do not come often. Some of these opportunities and challenges that will shape the president and congress' agenda are:

• The War on Terror: We are at a pivotal point in the War on Terror, with everything hinging on success in Iraq. If we succeed there in establishing a successful democracy than we will strike a mortal blow to the terrorists we face, who need tyranny and destitution for their ways to gain traction. Free societies do not support or export terror, and this is why victory in Iraq is so important.
• Mid-East Peace Process: With the passing of Yaser Arafat the Palestinians have an opportunity of their own, an opportunity to reform their society and gain credibility with both Israel and United States. Both the U.S. and Israel have shown a willingness to work with Abbas, provided he works towards stopping the terror against Israel. If he fails to do this, than he will have blown an opportunity that will not come about again for decades, and he and his fellow Palestinians will continue to suffer in poverty and destitution.
• Social Security Reform: Those on both the left and right who say that there is no crisis in Social Security and that it should be left alone are wrong. Waiting for there to be an actual crisis in anything before acting is both irresponsible and reckless. Reforming the system now will save money in the long run, and it will lessen the burden on a program that is slowly headed for disaster.
• Tax Reform: To achieve greater prosperity in America we must reform our outdated tax code by simplifying it. To encourage more savings and investment we must remove taxes on both, which will spur more pro-growth activities. Changing the system outright would almost certainly mean defeat, which is why an individual should be given the option of sticking with the current code and all it's deductions, or switching to the flat, more simpler rate. As time goes on, more and more will switch to the flat rate, and America will be much more prosperous as a result.
• Tort Reform: Frivolous litigation is driving up not only the costs of health care, but it is driving good doctors away from medicine. This is compromising both the quality and quantity of health care in America, and it is becoming a dangerous pattern. To insure that trial lawyers aren't padding their pockets while Americans have to go to greater lengths to receive decent medical care, we need to cap the amount of damages that can be awarded in a medical liability case. Also, we need to move these lawsuits out of state courts to the federal level, so lawyers can't simply fish around for the biggest payout among states.
• The Federal Judiciary: With all the judicial activism that is springing up in America, it is important that President Bush nominate conservative judges to the bench, judges who will interpret the law as it is, not make law as they want it to be. The obstructionist Democrats in the Senate will fight this all the way, but it is important that the president not back down. With at least two vacancies likely to open up on the Supreme Court, President Bush must especially follow the above criteria, for issues such as gay marriage, the pledge, and detainees' rights in regards to the War on Terror will be dealt with.

These are only a few of the issues that are sure to present themselves over the next four years, with many more unforeseen sure to come. But with the president's strong leadership and conviction, I have no doubt that we will achieve all that we can over the next four years.