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A Vietnamese-American Perspective on John Kerry

Hello Tuan,

I am working on a story about the Vietnamese American community and John Kerry and I am wondering if you are interested in commenting on your thoughts about John Kerry (for or against and why).

Hello K.R.,

I am for anyone who is running against Bush. You probably have a good idea from my previous writings that I am against the war in Iraq.

It was a wrong war, for the wrong reason. The Iraqis don't want the Americans there. Bush's justification of going to war to remove the dictator Saddam Hussein was arrogant, imperialistic, and undemocratic. Only the Iraqis have the right to decide who their leader should or shouldn't be. Bush's other justification for going to war to remove the threat of Iraq's nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons was an outright lie. Finally, there was no UN mandate for going to war. The United States went about it alone, and now is paying for it both in terms of financial and human costs.

Furthermore, Bush has wrecked the economy. The United States was running a record surplus under Clinton, and now, it is running a record deficit under Bush. Unemployment is high, and there is a general sense of insecurity in the economy and fear of terrorism. The people don't feel any safer or more secure.

But, I think Kerry will probably lose the election this November. So far, he has no coherent campaign to try to defeat Bush. More importantly, I think he lacks the passion that would help him relate to the average Americans. I remember watching Gore's concession speech after the election. It showed passion both in delivery and in substance, especially his love of country. I wish he had done more of that during the campaign. In my opinion, he would have won the election if he had done that.

Sincerely,

Tuan Tran