Luckily for the United States, Bush is Commander in Chief -- not public opinion pollers. It takes strong men to make decisions that will save lives of his people, even when those people will mock him all along the way. Thankfully, our President, too, has free will.

Getting rich is not easy; if it were, everyone would be rich, because in the grand scheme of things, more money is better than less money. The people who do manage to become a part of the top income-earners in the country believe they deserve to keep every penny they make, and so they vote for people who will pass laws to bring benefits to the people like them who struggled and overcame the thing that 90% of the country has not -- poverty. And by the way, there is no lasting business in the world where the employees make more money than the boss.

Now for the elections; where does each party stand (assuming bipartisan) on this issue?

Republicans will promise to increase the tax deductions that business owners (bosses) will have to pay, which will allow them to keep more of their hard earned cash.

Democrats will promise to increase government-funded financial aid to the average working man (aka the poor and middle class) as well as keep them employed (by the bosses), which will allow them to breathe a little easier when those bills come in the mail.

If you will view these two foundations logically, and not emotionally, you can see that the Republicans encourage self-employment and the Democrats encourage employment ... if you can find a job that you like. And since business owners are 5 times as likely to become millionaires, if you have any hope at all of becoming wealthy before you die, the Republicans are the ones working to get you the most benefits. Or if you have accepted the notion that you will never become rich, the Democrats are the ones working to help you keep your head above water for now.

I suppose your choice of candidate that you'll be voting for depends a great deal on whether or not you believe that something better awaits you in the future. I for one have faith in a promise, and it keeps me thinking long-term -- eternally long-term.

Why do people act like national surveillance is such an outrageous act by the government?

Convenient stores, grocery stores, and the "marts" of the world have been recording people for years, coming in, walking around, and going out of the store. Why is it okay for retail outlets to use hidden video surveillance for its protection and security, and yet when our government employs the same techniques, they are openly ridiculed. I suppose the national security is just a made-up concept created by Republicans, whereas shoplifting is a major, hostile threat.

Why are the same people who despise the "inner administration" not concerned about stores violating their rights?

Well, I won't disappoint my questions by leaving them unanswered; I do have the answer, but it's a 2-part answer:

1) To a democrat, any republican move is questionable.
2) Most people don't steal, so they're not worried about being caught stealing a deck of cards from Target -- other crimes, up until the crackdown on terrorism, have gone undetected due to the lack of surveillance.