Rand Paul: “the election of 2004 is now history. It is time to ponder our next 4 years. Will our country becoming freer, richer…”

“the election of 2004 is now history. It is time to ponder our next 4 years. Will our country becoming freer, richer, safer, and more peaceful? Or will we continue to suffer from lost civil liberties, a stagnant economy, terrorist threats, and an expanding war in the Middle East and Central Asia? Surely the significance of the election was reflected in its intensity and divisiveness. More people voted for President Bush than any other Presidential candidate in our history. And because of the turnout, more people voted against an incumbent president than ever before. However, President Bush was reelected by the narrowest margin vote of any incumbent president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. The numbers are important and measurable. The long-term results are less predictable. The President and many others have said these results give the President a mandate. Exactly what that means and what it may lead to is of great importance to us all. Remember, the Nation elected a president in 1972 with a much bigger mandate who never got a chance to use his political capital. The bitter campaign and the intensity with which both sides engaged each other implies that a great divide existed between two competing candidates with sharply different philosophies. There were plenty of perceived differences, obviously, or a heated emotional contest would not have materialized. The biggest difference involved their views on moral and family values.”