February 16, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 7

Bush

Stated enemy: “We are grateful that there has not been another attack on our soil since 9-11. This is not for the lack of desire or effort on the part of the enemy.”

Taxes: “American families should not have to worry about their federal government taking a bigger bite out of their paychecks. There’s only one way to eliminate this uncertainty: Make the tax relief permanent.”

Violence: “After decades of dictatorship and the pain of sectarian violence, reconciliation is taking place — and the Iraqi people are taking control of their future.”

Education: “The No Child Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America’s children, their parents, and their teachers to strengthen this good law.”

Humanity: “The terrorists oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear. Yet in this war on terror, there is one thing we and our enemies agree on: In the long run, men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny.”

Markowitz

Stated enemy: Doesn’t appear to have one: “People together, not apart, is the theme of today’s Brooklyn story.”

Taxes: “My office pioneered what is not citywide policy: When a developer seeks a zoning change, they must be offered a tax incentive in exchange for making at least 20 percent of their proposed units affordable.”

Violence: “Although most Brooklynites live side by side in peace and harmony 365 days a year — there was an unfortunate 20-percent increase in hate crimes in our city last year. … We know that in Brooklyn an attack against any one individual is an attack against us all.”

Education: “[O]f 84 Brooklyn middle schools, fewer than half the students are performing at grade level, and that’s a shame! … The Department of Education and the mayor must use the state’s “contract for excellence” funds to help these students succeed now, and we simply must reduce class sizes in these schools.”

Humanity: “[W]e support [Brooklyn’s] diversity and distinctiveness individually and collectively. We are committed to providing public funding for resources like the new LGBT center in Downtown Brooklyn — which will advocate for and bring together our borough’s lesbian and gay residents.”

Jeffries

Stated enemy: “The most significant issue facing our community is the affordable housing crisis. … the enemy here is greed.”

Taxes: “On July 1 … any developer who uses 421-a tax breaks to build condominium apartments in our community will have to make sure that a significant portion of that housing is affordable.”

Violence: “There are still far too many senseless acts of violence taking place in our community. Young people need a constructive alternative to the gang culture, drug culture and gun culture that seeks to envelop them.”

Education: “I will continue to fight for more funds so that schools have the resources they need to adequately prepare our children for the challenges of the 21st century.”

Humanity: “I am not interested in the things that separate us: black, white, rich, poor, old, young, gay, straight, Jews, Muslims and Christians. Rather, I care about the things that unite us: our common humanity and my unbending belief that the greatest strength of our community is our diversity.”

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper