Clappy: actually a lot of folks were frustrated in 2000 and didn't like the choices for President at all...
I am an independent and have voted for candidates from both parties over the years...Big money has corrupted both parties and its tough to find top talent that wants to deal with our elections process. I didn't think Gore was being himself in the campaign and very reluctantly voted for Bush (who was running as a moderate, as a unifier, as someone who wanted 'a humble foreign policy', etc...). We have now had a chance to see Bush in action for over 2 years...I can tell you right now that I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR BUSH AGAIN...I am a fiscal conservative and our deficits and economy have not been managed well at all...Bush has ignored many important treaties and failed to LISTEN to allies and effectively partner with other countries to solve international problems...Bush has gutted some important environmental laws and has not come up with a compelling energy policy that helps us reduce our dependence on oil...I feel that this war we may be about to fight in Iraq could have been avoided BUT Bush didn't leave himself a way out -- I heard the President of The Brookings Institution talk last night and he had great concerns about going into Iraq without global support and a strong U.N. mandate (more on that later in the weekend)....Anyway I'm quite frustrated that Bush has not been open-minded enough to realize that strong relationships with countries all around the world may be more important than overthrowing a dictator...the War on Terrorism requires great cooperation from ALL of our allies and other countries and we have just antagonized many of them over the last 6 months -- that's not an effective way to lead. Bush has not been willing to meet with a delegation from The National Council of Churches about this potential war (this includes the Bishop from his United Methodist Church)...The only reason he met with The Pope's emissary is because that was a family friend and he had no choice...Finally, what about 1000 very highly regarded veterans that wrote a letter to President Bush this week --> will he take the time to carefully consider their concerns about rushing into Iraq?...
veteransforcommonsense.org
Bush seems like someone who made up his mind long ago and has been trying to find a way to justify our military intervention in Iraq -- we're dealing with human lives here too...Yet, strong leaders reach out to wise folks from various perspectives and engage them in deep discussions...I had a chance to work for a president of a billion dollar media company when I got out of grad school -- it was fascinating to see how he operated and made decisions --> he was a very patient and thoughtful man who earned the respect of all his stakeholders...When we were about to bid on buying a package of TV stations from the Marriott family and possibly take on a lot of debt my boss went the extra mile with his due diligence and went out of his way to win over skeptics (who were in our broadcast division, on our board, and others who were analysts or institutional investors)...That was a very different decision than getting involved in a 'pre-emptive war' that will set a whole new prescedent in the international world order...Yet, I just don't see Bush agonizing over the decision to go to war, reaching out to various groups, consulting with Congress often, and compromising effectively with our allies to build a STRONG COALITION...Is he going 'the extra mile' to avoid a very costly war...? Is this a war of last resort that truly must be fought now...? Why hasn't the Administration really leveled with us about the costs and risks of invading Iraq and installing a new regime? (this has been estimated by various economists from $100-300 Billion of our tax dollars)...Lets just say I'm less than impressed with Bush...I expected more from him...then again, if I really had studied Bush's track record in the business world I would found some clues -- most of the time he wasn't successful and every time he got in trouble he had to be bailed out by his father's friends...He is not a self-made man like my old boss (the CEO of Meredith Corporation), or a Michael Dell, or a George Soros...Those folks all became successful in ways that I respect. Bush has some good qualities BUT he needs to become more humble, more open-minded, and more patient in order to have a chance of salvaging his presidency....JMHO.
-s2
btw, the other day I had lunch with a number of my investment world friends and many of them are quite conservative and voted for Bush...I took an informal poll at the table and none of them would vote for this president again -- that's not just due to the way the economy has been managed BUT most of them were very concerned about how Bush is leading our country in the world community. |
