Paul, right on! Your comment: "We've got to put some decency back into government and rebuild our military before it is too late." is right on the money. That is the key issue of this election. I've already cast my vote by absentee from here in Germany. From my experience as an active duty member of the military, I would guess Bush would get 75-80% of the active duty vote. The military over the last several years has been run ragged. I'll bet most people back in the States don't even know we still have troops in Bosnia and Kosovo. We are also still regularly bombing Iraq from bases in Turkey and the Gulf region - at the same time helping to rebuild East Timor and trying teach the Nigerians how to be "peace keepers" in a hopelessly war torn Africa. All that and disaster relief to places such garden spots as Mozambique, Vietnam, and Philippines. Have you had your Anthrax shots yet? After fighting an entire war without one person killed in combat, we have senselessly lost at least a dozen soldiers in the Kosovo occupation due to accidents and suicide - without an end in sight. When Bush said in the debates that we need to stop using the military without a clear exit strategy, he knows what he is talking about. Its time we have a team in Washington who understands the role of the federal government. The military is YOUR insurance policy that YOU still have all the rights and privileges that come with being an American. To squander its capabilities because of a failed foreign policy is to invite actions against the US like you saw against the USS Cole - or even worse. It should tell you something when the people who know the candidates best - the people in their home states of Texas (Bush 2-1 lead) and Tennessee (Gore may lose)are voting the way they are. I'll get off my soapbox for now.
Go Vote whichever way your conscience leads you...