America, the best country in the world, showed its superiority by electing a wise, dignified and highly qualified man to a second term as president. His vision and courage are making imminent a huge outbreak of democracy, peace and freedom in the Middle East, while simultaneously ushering in an unprecedented period of prosperity and well-being for all Americans. He is a champion of the poor and oppressed, a self-made man of the world who defied the odds all his life, a man blessed with the tenacity to overcome endless obstacles and the crystal-clear judgment required to steer the great ship of state. Yes, we are surely in our finest moment yet, and things are only getting better.

Soon, our brilliant military will defeat the foreign-born Saddam loyalists and other un-American foreigners in Iraq, and we will teach the Russians a thing or two by wiping out the Taliban in Afghanistan. Those who resist will be humanely concentrated in several camps and then taught by example how human rights are respected by superior, democratic countries. Though it will be a long struggle, and maybe one or two hundred thousand more will perish, democracy and freedom will steadily take hold. The Iraqis and Afghanis will love us for generations to come for our brave sacrifice. Perhaps, given freedom, they will even choose a Christian government founded on the principles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose divine wisdom guides us in all our actions. With that mission accomplished, will the president rest on his laurels? Not while the Mullahs of Iran conspire to develop nuclear missiles. A nuclear Iran, with its Muslim dictatorship, will threaten us at least as much as did Saddam’s vast arsenal. Neither international sanctions nor the effete United Nations can be trusted to protect us. Clearly, Bush will liberate the Iranians next, making us 70 million more grateful friends.

Certainly, those who blame America still question our right to self-defense and the legitimacy of our benevolent crusade. They refuse to acknowledge that America is, as always, the victim. Our country, with its strong sense of morals, always takes the high road and is always under attack for it. Today, we are under attack by evildoers who hate freedom. In days past, we were under attack by savage Native Americans, a Mexican dictator, the Spaniards or Vietnamese Communists. Today, we cannot sleep without the threat of another bombing hanging over our heads, without the fear of our houses being razed or our families murdered. Though our country hangs by its fingernails and has been blown to bits and turned into an unbearable hell by terrorists, we will win this struggle in the same way that we won the old battles. We will answer the deafening call of the world to deliver them democracy and freedom.

Those who say we can’t afford to save civilization from barbarians should consider the cost of a more passive approach. Because the president understands, on a personal level, that Americans make their money by playing fair and working hard, he has allowed us to keep more of it. Nowhere are the benefits of this policy more apparent than in the rapidly improving ghettos. Our leader is clever enough to know that we can fight the war and not pay for a dime of it now, because the promising economic recovery will easily fill the gap later.

So God bless America, and let us pray for our president. Mr. Bush, you are America, and America is you. Your superb leadership has brought the promise of peace and freedom to 50 million people, turned our economy around decisively, showed the world our dignity and moral fiber and united us in a noble worldwide struggle. Our best days lie ahead, here and with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in heaven.

Nathaniel Page is a junior philosophy major.