If I were elected the next president (2004) I would...

Defund the Pentagon to about 5% of what it is now.
(This does mean we will be leaving Europe to deal with the Soviet menace on their own... I think they can handle it. Japan might be the one exception, since they are constitutionally banned from arming themselves. We've got it covered.)
I would maintain satellite surveillance of the planet, negotiate useful intelligence sharing with our friends and allies (I would also remake our friendships and alliances after the last couple of years of insolence!), maintain a few strong, healthy bases on our perimeters and keep the best of the nuclear arsenal as a deterrent. The submarines would stay in the seas.

Close all overseas military bases.

Come on, what exactly are we scared of?

Fully fund all veterans care plans, and give them the same health care plan that Congress gets.

Annex Mexico.

End the embargo on Cuba, perhaps annex them, but leave them alone after that. Oh, yeah, Castro would have to win a free election to stay in power. Send Jimmy Carter there first to oversee it.

Send William Jefferson Clinton to Israel/Palestine to save the world.

Ask the world to remember 9/11 again, and ask if they will join in a very different way to work together to prevent such calamities from ever occurring again. My "predecessor" failed to do anything with this tremendous opportunity to make the world a better place for all people to live.

Push for a constitutional amendment stripping corporations of the "human" rights they have accrued via the Supreme Court over the last century.
(These include freedom of speech, etc. Just plain silly.)

Hand a "protection of marriage" bill to Congress mandating that anybody can marry anyone they want to.

Oh, duh, this is first... repeal all of the previous Occupant's tax cuts and try to get the budget back in balance.

Re-empower the National Labor Relations Board to make life fair for those seeking to form unions, instead of being the pro-business rubber-stamp committee it has been since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers.

Jack up the CAFE standards again to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Do just what Jimmy did - provide tax deductions for energy saving measures enacted by homeowners, and probably some businesses, as well.

Appoint my special prosecutor upon my inauguration (a double swearing-in ceremony, how romantic) to keep my hands clean while I work.

Repeal the so-called PATRIOT act.

Push for a constitutional amendment stating that every benefit authorized by Congress for itself shall apply to everyone.

Push for yet another amendment stating that the human rights recognized in the United States constitution are to be applied to everyone on the planet under any circumstances where the U.S. is involved.

Institute a 10% per year increase in the gasoline tax to encourage conservation. This is gradual enough to allow the markets to adjust by creating more economic vehicles, and for people to obtain them as their guzzlers wear out. The increases would stop the first year that U.S. combined gasoline and diesel consumption for vehicles drop.

Institute a single-payer, no-ID health care system. Anyone who is sick or injured gets cared for. We all pay. A list of procedures would be edited every year. It would be sorted first by how many people need the procedure. Each procedure's cost would be extended to a total figure. At some point, we stop paying when the total cost is what we as a nation want to spend.

Retire and let my vice-president (Hillary?) run the country. She'd do a good job.

8/3/03 - 3 AM