I've heard Republicans complaining about Colin Powell's stand on affirmative action and abortion. Some Republicans ask why Powell is in the GOP at all with those views? Here's the answer:

IT'S NATIONAL SECURITY, STUPID!!!

Many Republicans complained about Senator John McCain's emphasis on campaign finance and his perceived leftward lean during the primaries. Some Republicans asked: "How can he be a Republican and hold those views?" Here's the answer:

IT'S NATIONAL SECURITY, STUPID!!!

General Powell and Senator McCain have been to war for America. They have travelled around the world. They know that the "end of the Cold War" is not all it's cracked up to be. They know that there are many threats out there.

They know that the US military has been decimated under the Democrats. They know that the morale of our fighting men and women has never been lower.

They have seen first-hand the contempt that the current administration has for those who have devoted their lives to wearing the uniform of the USA.

From 1946 through 1991, the overwhelming feature of American political and economic existence was the Cold War. More than anything else, the American people elected men like Ike, Nixon, Reagan and Bush because they felt these men could take care of our security better than men like Mondale, Dukakis, McGovern, Humphrey, Carter, etc.

When you get right down to it, when the "fur starts to fly," other issues like abortion, Social Security, affirmative action, enterprise zones, or the Department of Education are rightly put on the back burner. We put aside our differences and pull in the same direction.

In the past, as long as the American people realized that there was a "wolf" at the door, they wanted someone in charge that they respected and trusted.

In fact if it weren't for Watergate, Carter would probably never have been elected in 1976. The Republican Party controlled the White House from 1981 to 1993 largely because of national security. When Reagan won the Cold War, he opened up an opportunity for a guy like Clinton, who would NEVER have been elected during the Cold War.

I'm here to tell you that the "Cold War" may be over, but the world grows more dangerous every day. There are other "wolves" ouside. And the Republican Party needs to let people know about them. Powell and McCain know the wolves. If you read the Republican platform, you realize that Bush and Cheney know also.

Unfortunately, national security is the one issue that the Clinton-Gore administration has been able to shove under the carpet:

• They don't want folks to know that Red China is undergoing a huge arms build-up and have threatened the US overtly with nuclear weapons twice in the past 5 years.

• They don't want folks to know that the PLA and the communist party still consider the US the enemy.

• They don't want us to know that three former Soviet aircraft carriers are docked in China right now to be either rebuilt or reverse-engineered for new ships.

• They don't want us to know that China is selling/giving ballistic missile, cruise missile and weapons of mass destruction technology to wonderful countries like Libya, Iran, and Pakistan.

• They don't want us to know that Iran has a massive arms build-up underway, including ballistic missiles, weapons of mass destruction, and cruise missiles in the Straits of Hormuz.

• They don't want us to know that North Korea is selling ballistic missiles to Iran and Libya while we send them millions in aid. Meanwhile they are deftly creating a chasm between America and our South Korean allies.

• They don't want us to know Putin is a really spooky guy with a bad background who is turning Russia into a nationalistic oligarchy--or that Russia and China are fast becoming true "strategic partners."

Christopher Holton is the president of Blanchard and Company and has been writing about geo-political issues, economics, and defense topics for more than 10 years. He can be reached at theholtons@bellsouth.net.