Is there a man in more need of a speechwriter than John Kerry? Is there a man who inspires less emotion than a fist-waving Joe Lieberman? Could Howard Dean ever beat President Bush? The answer is obvious — no.

Some friends on the left claim the president cannot be defended on his merits and that one must resort to bashing his opponents to succeed. While bashing the left is like passing Library 160, containing myself to his merits will be more rewarding.

The heartiest criticism Bush receives from our friends on the left is his handling of the economy. Few people recall the economy was already on its way south when Bush was getting ready to take office.

The stock market had been declining and, coupled with the terrorist attacks, what had been a lull torpedoed into a full recession. Bush passed a scaled back version of his $1.35 trillion tax cut package, which fulfilled a promise he had made on the campaign trail. He also repealed the death tax, so people who die with money and heirs aren’t subjected to a posthumous money grab by the federal government. Presidents as far back as Kennedy knew the importance of allowing people to hold on to their money. People invariably spend it, which stimulates business, which in turn expands and requires more people, which creates growth, and the economy flourishes.

Bush is also on the verge of passing a prescription drug plan for seniors, passed the “No Child Left Behind” Act and installed his faith-based initiative program to help the poor and the needy.

What about the war in Iraq? Saddam Hussein had his chance to disarm. He attempted to assassinate a president and robbed and murdered his own people, all while harboring terrorists. “We don’t negotiate with terrorists” is what Bush said, and he’s exactly right, because if you do once, every terrorist from Baghdad to Calcutta is booking flights to New York and selling nuclear weapons to North Korea. What the country is accomplishing in Iraq is the right thing for the Iraqis, and it is going to make America infinitely safer for generations to come.

Rumblings in Washington are that a big announcement will be coming at the end of September of the discovery of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and that the left’s suspicions will be unfounded.

All of the Democratic candidates, save for Kucinich and Dean, supported the preemptive strike, but now they seem to be recalling all these reservations they had about the war. Where were they when Congress debated Bush’s authorization? They were floating around like a pack of jellyfish. Someone should force them to read JFK’s “Profiles in Courage” at least once before they are allowed to run for president.

Imagine Al Gore, Hillary Clinton or these nine Democratic candidates propping up a nation after 9/11 and then having the courage to follow through and crush their terror networks and their terror supporters. Bush may not be perfect, but he has done what was right, and he’s made our lives better and safer. He hasn’t wavered in his defense of liberty, and we shouldn’t waver in keeping him in office for another four years.