Freedom and Hope and Opportunity

America is supposed to be about freedom and hope and opportunity. That's what John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were selling and we ate it up. There's not a single candidate for President who is selling anything approaching the American ideal. All the Republicans have is fear. All the Democrats have is despair. Where's freedom and hope and opportunity? Did 9-11 kill those too along with 3000 Americans? We survive in the world by being "a shining city on the hill." Since 9-11, all we've offered the world is death and military oppression. We need someone to steer us back onto the path that makes us proud and the envy of the world. We defeat global Islamist terror by maintaining our ideals of freedom and hope and opportunity. Freedom from fear, hope for prosperity for our children and the opportunity to achieve both.

The US military throughout our history has had only one role. To kill and destroy the enemies of freedom and hope and opportunity. Armies don't build civil societies; people build civil societies. And they build them based on freedom and hope and opportunity. We can't remove tyranny from the world one dictator at a time. All we can do is encourage people to fight it themselves by our example and our support. We can't deliver the world from evil by doing evil ourselves. Everytime we use war as a solution to a problem, we get nothing but fear and suffering and despair. Wars are at times necessary, but should be used sparingly and only for a specifically stated purpose. Giving the President an open-ended declaration to use force was a huge mistake. We need to withdraw that declaration and work towards a more positive solution. One that replaces fear and suffering and despair with freedom and hope and opportunity. I believe that was the message of Baker-Hamilton. I am looking for the Presidential candidate who can offer that.