“I’m the decider” were the words uttered by President Bush when confronted with overwhelming poll numbers in opposition to the war in Iraq. I think if I hear one more politician say they don’t pay attention to polls, the top of my head is going to fly off. What makes any elected officer think holding the office makes them immune to the will of the people. Saying that they don’t pay attention to polls is just another way of saying that they think they are above the will of the people or perhaps they think they know better what’s best for the people. Either way it’s an arrogance that amounts to little more than a smoke screen to cover up for the fact that their activities are guided by personal ideology or worse, special interest money.
I think being a Republican today must be something akin to what it was like when Bill Clinton humiliated the entire Democratic Party back in the 90’s. The big difference is that Clinton’s antics didn’t involve a botched, ill conceived war that has cost the lives of nearly thirty five hundred American soldiers. The war aside, is there anything this administration touches that doesn’t instantaneously burst into the flames of scandal. There are so many scandals attributed to this president, even the twenty four hour news channels can’t keep up. Does anybody remember that one of this countries most well known and beloved cities, New Orleans, still lies mostly in ruins, quietly waiting to be resurrected.
And now we have more evidence that Alberto Gonzales is nothing but a henchmen for the Bush, Cheney, and Rove triad. This latest episode of Gonzales actually going to the hospital room of the former Attorney General Ashcroft is over the top. And as if to add insult to injury, Wolfowitz (considered one of the main architects of the Iraq war), announced he would resign as President of the World Bank today.
And George W. Bush keeps on keeping on as if all was well. He and his British protégé Blair insisted today that history would judge the war in Iraq to have been the right decision. Wow, how disconnected can a guy get? Gonzales keeps showing up for work everyday apparently in a state of complete delusion. Hell, Cheney is still insisting there was an Iraqi, 911 connection.
I’ll have to admit I’m a little dismayed about what can be done about Bush. I am incensed by this Presidents obtuse attitude that HE is right and the rest of us just don’t understand. Yes Mr. President, we understand all too well that spending our soldiers in this manner is immoral and must stop. The Bush Presidency may be headed toward a historic crash and burn, but in the mean time our soldiers are being used for target practice.
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Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent
Devin’s column, “Left Of The Right” published every Tuesday and Thursday to Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news.
Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class.
You can find all of Devin’s columns at http://gather.com/leftoftheright
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Comments: 19
Ford Motor Company just announced they are closing a casting plant. That is one of the BASIC industries in making cars. Casting plants produce engine blocks, transmission and differential housings and many other parts of cars. Is Ford going to begin importing those parts from China?
In the Vietnam era the government talked about Dominoes today they talk about Domination. Do all our troubles start with D and that rhymes with T and that stands for Trouble, Trouble, Trouble right here in River City. THROW THE BUMS OUT>THAT STARTS WITH T TOO.
Maybe because the wishlist is short-sighted. Small government sounds good till you realize that it's the big guy who can fix things (like roads and health care). A pro-business stance is a good thing - as long as those businesses stay here in the US. Fighting terrorism is a good thing - till you start surrendering your core values in the process.
It doesn't surprise me that the AG is in trouble. He was selected using another Conservative value - loyalty - rather than competence.
When people tell me about how many jobs there are, I tell them it's not about jobs, its about income--and income has steadily dropped for the middle-class under Shrub and the shrubettes as has our ability to take care of the country--we have become a country of Mal-wart greeterS!
My husband has been working at Home Depot(Laid off from trades, but just got another trades job--only keeping HD until our bills are caught up). Do you know that over 60% of their merchandise comes from China and HD is hoping to have that figure up to 80 or 85% by the end of the year????
A great American city does still lie in ruins, dangerously unprepared for the upcoming hurricane season. But as is generally the case, I fear no one will realize just how important this city is until it is too late.
You like kities, too...so you can't be all bad ; )
That's it? "I Like Bush and AG. Go figure." You disappoint me man, I just reduced the Bush team to the status of the Three Stooges and that's all you have to say? Oh well, defending this guy must seem insurmountable.
What plan do we need to reap vast improvements over this administration? It would seem to me, that if you jail the criminals, what you have left can do a much better job of running our country for us. As far as Iraq is concerned, it's not something Bush, or anyone else is going to persevere at. To think they are is denial, and I think we've all had about enough of that. The Iraqis will determine what happens in Iraq, and I, for one, am not worried about it becoming a terrorist center, as neither the Sunnis or the Shiites want them there,and the Kurds sure don't. They'll throw the bums out themselves, once we're gone, and have said so.
great article
At this point I believe that Bush knows he "screwed the pooch" with his Iraq invasion and he is simply trying to hold on until he can pass it off to someone else. Impeaching Bush is no good as it would go to Cheney who is already calling the shots. Now if there were grounds to impeach Cheney we'd be in business.
I don't believe Bush is a bad person, just a person without the right kind of experience and skills to handle the job he has been given and therefore subject to the wrong advisers and bad advice. Cheney, Rove, Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld all deserve a special place in history on this matter so we never forget just what and who may result in bringing the USA to its knees!
I agree with your analysis, James C. The impeachment talk is all passé, as is hope for Bush administration competence in the areas of diplomacy or working with Congress, for that matter.
The scene shifts to limiting damage for the next 613 days, and to the formation of a new government (1/5/09 and 1/20/09. If the President wishes to continue vetoing supplementary war spending bills, I say more power to him (i.e., less power to him). Stopping the screwed pooch is the highest calling of statecraft for this interval.
Those who blindly buy into an ideology, whether neo con or ultra liberal it makes no difference, and then accept blindly anything that faction teaches/preaches/expounds, are the ones who need to "grow up" and get real!
All of us who are somewhere in the middle have everything to fear, not from republican or democrat, but from the radical ideologies on either end of the spectrum. These ideologies require no thought, only great emotionalism and a love of one liners. They love to insult and accuse anyone different of "hating" America! It is my hope that someday most of the ideologues learn to think things through and realize that if simple answers were the solution to the world's problems, they would be solved!
Appreciate your comments!
He points out that Bush has no standard for failure in Iraq; he just stubbornly insists that we must win. Peck is a CEO coach and says: "Great leaders set and stick with clear standards for failure as well as success. Others act like gambling addicts, greedily seeing only success, depleting their cash without any off switch."
Bush failed as a CEO and he has failed as President, possibly because he has a very shallow understanding of leadership. He may be the "decider" but he's a rotten decision maker.