October 2000

The Presidential candidates are George Bush and Al Gore. Al Gore is a Democrat and George Bush is Republican. The Presidential election is important so we know who to pick for President and their ideas for our country. The election will be held on November 7, 2000 the first Tuesday after the first Monday. 

The role of the United States is we are the leading nation in the world. Every other country usually follows what we do and our laws.

Bush's current job is the Governor of Texas. Al Gore's current job is Vice President of the United States. To become President there are three main qualifications :

• you have to be at least 35 years old 

• lived in the United States at least 14 years 

• and be a native born citizen of the United States.

There are two other qualifications, you need to have experience and money.

Al Gore's proposal on Social Security is he wants to save the money in a lock box until they get older and retire. He does not want to put the funds in a stock because it is not guaranteed to gain money. Gore wants Universal Health Care and every child insured by 2005. He also wants to make Health Care affordable to all families. Bush's proposal on Social Security is he wants to invest the money in a stock and let people have access to their funds. Bush does not want Universal Health Care he does not believe the government should pay. He also wants plan to provide money to poor families to help them pay for Health Care.

Social Security is a system of federal old age, survivors, and disability insurance for retired persons, their dependents and other insurance. The system is financed by contributions from employees, employers and the government. Social Security works in this way, you get paid and small amounts of taxes are taken out of that pay. Then when you retire you get a monthly check and get Health Care costs.

My impression of George Bush is he only wants to help 1% of rich people that is how he sounded on the first debate. I also didn't like his facial expressions. My impression of Al Gore is he has a lot of fresh ideas and he seemed like he really wanted to help the American citizens. If I could vote I would vote for Al Gore because he has a lot of good and fresh ideas and he seems he will help everybody. 

It is important to vote in a presidential election because the president you choose will be making choices and decisions. So if you don't vote you won't have a say in the decisions that affect your life. The president's job is he/she talks to Congress once a year about the economy and problems, he/she carries out laws, represents United States and is Commander in Chief of all military forces. 

The significance of this election is we are the leading nation and help other countries with their disputes. Like the battle between Israelis and Palestinians. We had a summit and Bill Clinton was trying to get the two leaders to compromise, but they are still fighting. So maybe with the new president we will have another summit and maybe come to some peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Voting in an election allows you to pick the person to make the laws that affect your life. This is an important concept because you want a say in choosing a person to lead our country.