> 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.''
>