BOTH SIDES: Dole offers stake in future

Patrick Ruffini says Tuesday's balloting is aboutPatrick Ruffini says Tuesday's balloting is aboutthe public trust and real economic growth. Patrick Ruffini says Tuesday's balloting is aboutthe public trust and real economic growth. In August, I stood on the floor at the Republican National Convention as Bob Dole delivered the most courageous speech of the presidential campaign. The 1990s are an exciting time. The information revolution promises to empower the citizen rather than the government. The global economy is breaking down barriers between peoples and cultures. But we can do a better job of addressing America's social ills. As we look toward the 21st century, we cannot afford to have a weak leader. But that is what we have in Bill Clinton, a president who broke his promise for a middle-class tax cut just three weeks after taking office, tried to impose a health care scheme that was Orwellian in its complexity and has acted evasively on basic questions of public trust. Dole offers us something different. Particularly, he offers young people a stake in our future. His track record of accomplishment shows he has not only the capacity to think big ideas, but also the will to act on them. First, Dole's agenda will balance the budget for the first time in a generation. Economists of all persuasions agree this would cause interest rates to fall by as much as two percentage points, welcome relief for anyone struggling with student loans. In fact, Dole has been fighting for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution since the early 1970s. Last year, Dole helped pass the first balanced budget since 1969 -- but Clinton vetoed it. The Dole plan also cuts taxes for middle-income Americans. The Clinton administration's response to problems of slow economic growth has been deafening silence. Dole offers genuine tax relief for families -- a 15 percent income tax cut, $500 tax credit per child and capital gains tax relief. The third major tenet of Dole's plan concerns education. Dole believes all parents should have the same choice of schools for their children that the most privileged parents already have. It will be a great day when the poorest child in Washington, D.C. can go to the best private school with the daughter of the president of the United States. This election must be about more than just promises. It must be about public trust. It must be about whether we can expect our president to make good on his promises. From shepherding the biggest tax cut in American history through Congress to fighting for the Americans with Disabilities Act, Dole has built a pragmatic record of accomplishment by working for the common good. Throughout his career, Dole has earned a degree of respect Clinton will never know. Even the strongly partisan chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Ct.), admitted that "If Bob Dole were to be elected, he'd make a good president." In election years, we are used to hearing slogans and lofty promises. But we are not used to having a candidate keep those promises once in office. We are not used to leaders whose actions speak louder than their words. Dole is a man of ordinary words who has built a record of extraordinary accomplishment. This is why he deserves your support on November 5.