On November 2nd, Americans will cast their votes and choose who will be our President for the next four years. This is the 55th presidential election in American history and in my opinion – the most important since the day our great nation was formed. And while I encourage each and every American to vote next Tuesday no matter who they vote for – I think they should vote for one candidate in particular – and I am now going to tell you why.

In the last four years, America has aged more then we have in the last two hundred. From the worst terrorist attack in our history, to the worst record of job loss since President Herbert Hoover in 1933 – to a “war” that has killed, as of today, 1,111 of our soldiers and cost us a quarter of a trillion dollars so far – the United States of America of 2004 is not the “U.S. of A” that our Founding Fathers left us with when they signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. And now more than ever, we need a President that will lead us, protect us, empower us and employ us. We need a President that will befriend our neighbors abroad and make us a welcome member of the International Community rather than make us a lone wolf that is viewed by the rest of the world as an arrogant, selfish bully. We need a President that will focus his attention on homeland security, homeland stability and homeland prosperity, instead of spending his time and my tax dollars on securing, “rescuing” and rebuilding a country full of people who hate us and want our soldiers and our citizens dead in the most horrific way possible. We need a President whose priorities are issues like healthcare, social security, homelessness and the environment instead of his own “special” interests. We need a President who is concerned about the poorest of Americans instead of the wealthiest – and we need a President who will stop at nothing to hunt down the man who murdered my best friend and thousands of other Americans on September the 11th instead of “invading” Iraq…

…we need John Kerry.

John Kerry has been accused of being everything from weak, to inexperienced to a “flip-flop” because he has changed his mind on some decisions. But if anyone should be accused of being a “flip-flop” – it’s me. This is now the third time my opinion of George W. Bush has changed in the last four years. When he was first elected, I wrote that he was, “plastic, cocky and Nixon-esque” and that I did not vote for him and did not want him as our next President. A few months after September 11th, my opinion of President Bush changed due to what I thought was his strong support for our citizens following the attacks and the quick retaliation against those responsible in Afghanistan. In a column called, I Stand Corrected, I praised President Bush for, “doing an excellent job” and stated that he has proven himself to be, “a strong leader and an encouraging speaker” in the days following the September 11th atrocity…

…then I saw Fahrenheit: 9/11.

If even ten percent of that movie is accurate, then President Bush should be impeached and put on trial for treason, abuse of power and deceiving the American people. Michael Moore obviously has his own agenda, but most of what is in that movie has been proven to be factually accurate. It terrifies me to even consider the possibility that my President has had a decades-long financial and personal relationship with the family of the man who orchestrated the worst terrorist attack in human history. And to learn that Former President George Herbert Walker Bush and Safiq Bin Laden, Osama’s half-brother, were actually in the same room watching the attacks unfold together literally frightens me. And then to learn that, as the movie stated, “at least six private jets and nearly two dozen commercial planes carried the Saudis and the Bin Ladens out of the U.S. after September 13th. In all, 142 Saudis, including 24 members of the Bin Laden family, were allowed to leave the country” literally makes me sick to my stomach. Why would the President of the United States of America ground every single commercial and private airplane flight, leaving tens of thousands of American citizens stranded with no way to get home – but fly the family members of the man believed to be responsible for the attack safely out of the country? Even worse, why did the President outsource the job of capturing Osama Bin Laden to the Pakistani and Afghan military – but send nearly every soldier we have into Iraq to “capture” Saddam Hussein – who has never attacked the United States or possessed weapons of mass destruction?

Makes you think…doesn’t it?

I firmly believe in my heart that President Bush has a personal, financial agenda and is using his role as President of the United States to help himself and his friends gain wealth while putting the safety, security and future of the American people at risk. In fact, as I write this, the FBI has begun investigating whether the Pentagon improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton – a company owned by Vice President Dick Cheney – and are seeking an interview with a top Army contracting officer and collecting documents from several government offices as part of their investigation. The fact that the FBI has decided to investigate the Vice President proves that I am not alone in this train of thought – or suspicion.

But besides my suspicions, there are real, true facts that frighten me about George W. Bush, the most pertinent being his views on abortion. If President Bush has his way, abortions would be outlawed and even a woman who was raped would not be able to abort the fetus. Besides the obvious fact that a woman’s body is her own and no man should tell her what she can and can’t do with her own body – banning abortions will force women to either raise a child they either do not want or can’t afford – or resort to illegal, back alley abortions that could cost them their lives. Regardless of my personal views on abortion, I think a woman should be able to make her own choice – rather than have a man tell her what she can and can’t do with her own body.

In addition to his twisted views on abortion, President Bush also will not allow gay marriage. Although I am straight, I think that if our society accepts homosexuals enough to air shows like Queer Eye For The Straight Guy and Will And Grace – then we should allow partners who are in love and living together to have the same privileges and benefits that heterosexuals share. I realize that President Bush’s views on marriage are limited to a man and a woman – but his personal views have nothing to do with his job of running the country in this capacity or any other.

And as for his job of running the country, what has our 43rd President done in the last four years? He has brought our National Debt to, as of today, $7,442,284,239,704.52. He has forced each and every American to pay an average of $505 for the war in Iraq. He has given a $304 tax cut to the bottom sixty percent of Americans – while the tax cut for those making over $1 million a year was $112,925. He has brought the unemployment rate to 5.6% and has given tax breaks to corporations who have left the United States of America or have outsourced their jobs to overseas companies – and he has misled the American people and sent our young men and women to die in a foreign country for his own personal and financial agenda.

To be honest, I do not know that much about John Kerry as a person, but feel that anyone at this point would be a better choice then President George W. Bush. In 1994, when New York Governor Mario Cuomo ran against challenger George Pataki, no one knew who George Pataki was or what his political views were – but we chose to elect him in place of the incumbent Governor because we felt that it was time for a change. And since Governor Pataki was elected in 1994 – the residents of New York State voted to re-elect him an additional two times – proving that although an unknown at the time of his first election – he proved himself to be a worthy Governor of New York – and a deserving candidate for re-election.

I believe that if given the chance – John Kerry will do the same.

John Kerry and Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards believe in building a safer, respected America with world-class education, affordable health care, a clean environment and strong communities. They believe in equal opportunity for women, proper benefits for our veterans, an energy-independent America and the benefits of stem-cell research. They see the future of this country as I do – one of prosperity, promise and hope. An America that is safe at home and respected abroad. An America that leads the world in technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs – and an America that will go to war when we have to – not when we want to.

When you enter the voting booth this Tuesday, please think about where we were four years ago and where we are now – and pull the lever for the man that will lead us for the next four years with dignity and honesty, bring a fresh start to America – and clean up George W. Bush’s mess. The man who has been endorsed by newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Sun Times and The Miami Herald. The man who has support from people like Former President Bill Clinton, celebrities like Bruce Springsteen and Susan Sarandon – as well as countless veterans organizations. The man who has dedicated his life to serving this country both on the battlefield and in public office – and the man who on November 2nd, will be elected the next President of the United States – John Kerry.