malvasia bianca

I saw a bumper sticker the other day saying “Kerry/Edwards: A Stronger America.” Which would seem to be their slogan. And which makes me unhappy.

Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of ways that one could mean that phrase that I would approve of. He could mean that we’re strong enough to share our riches with others. He could mean that we’re strong in friends. He could mean that we’re full of energy, that we’re self-confident enough to convince others when we’re right, to be convinced by others when we’re wrong, and to sometimes amicably disagree.

But that’s not the feeling that I get from the bumper sticker. It reads to me like he’s saying that, under John Kerry, we’ll keep on beefing up our military, and that we’ll beat people up whenever we want to. Which I don’t want – I want our military weaker, not stronger, and I certainly don’t appear of bullying. And it also looks like more of the “I’m just like George Bush, except better” theme, which strikes me as a stupid way to run a campaign.

Sigh. I thought Al Gore was a lousy candidate, but John Kerry isn’t looking too good, either.