Ben Stein writes a check to the Peace Corps Partnership
Fort Smith : Bush wins Ben Stein’s praise
BY DAVE HUGHES
Posted on Saturday, July 10, 2004
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FORT SMITH — Nationally known personality Ben Stein stopped off here on Friday to endorse the Bush-Cheney ticket, saying that while President Bush has made mistakes, he has done a good job running the country and should be re-elected.
He was friendly with the many people who wanted to shake his hand and signed autographs without hesitating.
At the request of Chay Tidwell, a Peace Corps member who spoke to the Noon Exchange Club before him, Stein wrote a $100 check to the Peace Corps Partnership. The money will help establish a boys’ democracy camp in one of the former Soviet republics.
When an Exchange Club member asked Stein if he had any plans to go into politics, Stein said, "I have too many skeletons in the closet, and I hate to get up early."
Stein said he respected Bush because he admitted he’s not the smartest person to serve as president but was doing the best he could to make the right decisions. "Bush is not a perfect vessel," Stein told the crowd at UAFS. He called the president "an ordinary guy trying to lead a nation of ordinary people."
Stein said Bush will win reelection if the economy continues to improve and the violence and unrest in Iraq calms down.
He said the Democratic presidential ticket of Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina was a strong team that would be a good challenge for Bush and Cheney.
But his impression of Kerry was not flattering. "Kerry is a narcissist. His hair is a dead giveaway," he said.
He said Bush made a mistake in going into Iraq on the justification Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. On the other hand, Bush was right to remove Saddam from power because Saddam was a detriment to peace in the Middle East and an ally of al Qaida terrorists.
Stein, who is 59 and lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., has an Arkansas connection. He is married to Arkansas native Alexandra Denman and boasts of family in Little Rock, Heber Springs and Idabel, Okla.
Stein is a Yale Law School graduate, former trial lawyer, frequent columnist for publications like The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, a university lecturer, and author of 23 books.
He became universally recognized as the boring teacher in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and hosted the popular Comedy Central television show Win Ben Stein’s Money.
