Ben Stein Endorses Bush

Here, in a nutshell, is why I will be voting for George W. Bush on Tuesday.

First, he's a sane, sound guy. He married for love and stayed married. He's not a snob or a prima donna. He can laugh at his own limitations. He is a man of faith and makes no bones about it. He's committed to the defense of life.

Second, he loves this country as a special, unique nation. He doesn't see it as just one of a number of countries of historic note. To him, it's not another France or Germany. It is a shining city on a hill on which God shed His grace as never before on a nation or a people. It's going to take this kind of devotion to win the war against the terrorists.

He doesn't think we need anyone's permission to defend America, and he's totally right. He's not living in a dream world, thinking we're going to be rescued by the likes of France and Russia. He has shown remarkable character about Israel. Despite receiving only about one in five Jewish votes, he has stood up for Israel steadfastly against the terrorists.

Third, he's loyal. He doesn't saw off our fighting men and women at the knees by saying they're dying in the wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place. He has never called American warriors war criminals, as some have done. Our military needs to know its mission is valuable and appreciated and George Bush tells our servicemen and women they are not fighting and dying in vain.

I think he's done well with an economy he inherited that had real problems of a collapsing stock market and a gathering recession, although I do think he went too far on taxes. He's not perfect. He's not George Washington. He's George W. Bush, who happened to be president on 9/11 and has responded to it superbly.

He's not Abe Lincoln. He's just the best guy out there in an uncertain and dangerous world. He's in it for America, not to fulfill a boyhood dream, and I want to keep him on the job. But if his opponent wins, God bless him, too. He'll need it.