A Failed Presidency (great read)

[ixion]

Published in the September 13, 2004 issue of The Nation
A Failed Presidency
Editorial

As Republicans gather in New York City, the Bush campaign will undergo a drastic makeover, camouflaging gutter tactics with a veneer of moderation calculated to help the President win another four-year term. But the hard truth of this campaign is that George W. Bush, while attempting to impose an extremist right-wing agenda on this country and the world, has compiled a record of staggering failure.

The debacle in Iraq has already claimed close to 1,000 American and 10,000 Iraqi lives. Far from making America safer or the Middle East more democratic, it has turned out to be what this magazine warned it would be: a reckless abuse of power that has damaged US security, destabilized the region and undercut America's position in the world. The high cost of the war is evident not just in the number of deaths but also in burgeoning federal budget deficits (the war has cost more than $200 billion) and in the record gasoline prices Americans now pay. It is also evident in the reported swelling of the ranks of Al Qaeda-inspired groups and in the rising hatred of America reflected in public opinion polls which show that even among traditional allies like Jordan and Egypt, as much as 95 percent of the population view the United States with disfavor. Meanwhile, the war has diverted resources from urgent international problems ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the widening AIDS pandemic.



<snip]>

But this President does not admit error. When asked at a press conference whether he had ever made a mistake in office, he couldn't think of one.

If Bush wins in November, given this record of misfeasance, American democracy is in much greater trouble than even the most alienated citizens imagine. A President so out of step with the needs of the American people can only rule by sowing division and fear. Americans have one recourse: to ignore the costume ball in New York City and fire the worst President in modern history on November 2.



A really fantastic piece. So much truth in so little space. :-)

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0826-07.htm

[tXr]

1. You know it's bad when

even *s fellow repukes are condemning his actions:

"Bush's vaunted No Child Left Behind education law actually leaves most children behind. Not only has the law earned the ire of educators; Bush's failure to provide promised funding for his "reforms" has prompted rebuke even from Republican state legislatures from Utah to Virginia."

Excellent article!

[grytpype]

2. Email this to everyone you know.

Everyone needs to see this!

[ixion]

3. kick, for the failed pResident

Don't let the door hit you in the a** on the way out.