How much can America afford? Republicans at one point in time had a
reputation as champions of fiscal integrity.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money."

"You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn."

The liberal or compassion or "socailly responsible" voices have often
declared our duty as a society to step up to the plate when ever
there are crises that the private sector cannot address as well as the
public arm.

Indeed, both Democrats and Republicans, despite their constant
rivalry, each rush to assist where government aid is vital. Consider
Katrina, or the Galveston-Houston devastation today. Consider how the
world looks to America to lead, whether against Milosevic, or against
Saddam, or against international terrorism. After WWI, Europe turned
to American generosity to feed them, following the ruination of Europe
in the wake of the war.

After World War II our goodness received a dramatic manifestation in
the Marshall plan -- the vast program of assistance to help war-
ravaged nations recover from World War II. And we can be proud that we
helped restore not only our allies but those who had been our enemies
as well. Pope Pius XII said of us at that time: ``The American people
have a genius for splendid and unselfish action, and into the hands of
America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted humanity.'' And
in our own times, the United States continues to bear the burdens of
defending freedom around the world. Listen to the words of former
Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton: ``I wonder if anybody has
thought what the situation of comparatively small nations would be if
there were not in existence the United States, if there were not this
great, giant country prepared to make those sacrifices.''