What Real Superheroes are Made of By Malia Zimmerman
In the world of make believe, there is no shortage of colorful and glamorous superheroes, like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. But in the real world, especially in Hawaii, the heroes are the little people- you and me. The people who wake up everyday, drive kids to school, work so we can pay our bills and ridiculously high taxes, make time cheerfully for family and homework, and yet up with the political malarkey, including traffic cams and higher taxes on beer, our state government imposes on us. We are the valiant ones, the Batmen of Hawaii, who overcome all odds for the greater good. Whereas most of the people elected to serve us act more like the Joker in Batman-arrogant, officious, mean spirited and about as far from heroic as you can get. On a recent trip to Washington DC, however, I did meet a hero in elected office. One who remembers what it is like to make it through day to day life, to be a "little" person, to worry about children and their education and safety, to pay taxes and struggle financially, to work hard and to spend time with family, to fail, to win, to be humble. His name is George W. Bush. A handful of us, including three people from Hawaii, talked with the president for almost 30 minutes about three main areas of concern: the war on terrorism and domestic safety, government education and the lagging economy. The president walked into the meeting we attended at the White House of public policy leaders from free-market think tanks and institutes from around the country. Hawaii free-marketeers recently established its first and only free-market think tank, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a non-profit, non-partisan, privately funded group that studies government agencies and programs to see if they are helping or hurting Hawaii's individuals and to recommend reforms. In town to attend a series of meetings hosted by the Americans for Tax Reform, American Conservative Union and American Legislative Exchange Council, I, along with Dick Rowland, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and State Senator Sam Slom of Small Business Hawaii, made a presentation on Hawaii. We also met with Bush's advisors, appointees and staff, to be briefed on everything from the way the executive branch is changing Washington politics, including dealing with labor and taking on healthcare, education and economic issues, to how many pets the president has (three cats and one dog). I was not only impressed with the president's strength, determination and focus, but with the fact that he keeps his campaign promises. Something we don't often see done by elected officials in Hawaii and we didn't even see from the current president's father, who raised taxes after his famous campaign pledge line: "Read my lips-No new taxes." We met with the president just hours after he withdrew our country from the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty, a move Former Pres. Ronald Reagan had proposed, but not able accomplish. The ABM treaty signed by the former USSR and the United States to limit offensive and defensive missile policies, is null and Bush is still pursuing the defensive missile policies, proposing to build a missile shield to protect the United States. In the end of the meeting, after I'd sat three feet away from him and taken in his serious eyes, the strong lines in his face, his graceful hands, broad shoulders, good sense of humor and perfectly pressed navy suit, the president got right to the point. He looked around the room at each of us and tied together his optimistic outlook for both domestic and international affairs. "While some people may expect me to back down, if they are waiting for me to back down, I will not. I tell them I will not blink." I believe him. I believe we will be victorious in our fight for freedom, prosperity and happiness against terrorists in and out of America. I believe President George W. Bush will go down in history as one of America's great heroes in a time where great evil lurks and only the greatest of heroes can ensure our constitutional and basic human rights.
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