Ted, rather than rebut each of your points, I'll just present my viewpoint on each issue you bring up:
1) Most of the "world" isn't going to be on America's side anyway. Clinton portrayed that image, but when it came down to accomplishing anything of importance, such as the Kosovo war, Clinton ran into the same anti-American vitrol that now dogs Bush. Of course, Clinton was a lot more sensitive to such criticism, and that almost cost us the victory in Kosovo.
2) Bush is hardly intellectually-demented when it comes to public speaking. He does have trouble reconciling his frankness when it comes to everyday talk, and a need to watch every word when it comes to public speaking, knowing that the public is going to dissect every single word and run away with anything they deem "newsworthy." It explains how "Wanted: Dead or Alive" became such a slogan, and it explains how "Bring 'em on" became a catch-phrase for the Anyone But Bush crowd.
3) Bush has had a successful career as a businessman, baseball team owner, and governor of Texas. All are evidence of his people-managing skills. Sure, he had a rebel past, which he isn't proud of, but his sobering up and his redemption that followed is a defining moment of his life that shouldn't be denied.
4) Bush indeed has the interests of his country in his heart. Tax cuts are his way of jump-starting an economy stalled by the biggest burst bubble of recent memory, not a "gift to the rich." His environmental policies are meant to cut bureaucracy and restore the balance between human need and environmental need, something liberals often forget to do. And one can argue that his neo-liberal policies, such as prescription drug benefits, are his way of reconciling tough conservativism with caring liberalism.
5) The war in Iraq was not started on false premises, since even the U.N. believed Saddam had the weapons. True, many objected, but a lot of those objections came from those who either saw Saddam as a "stabilizing force," which itself is a dangerous philosophy to live by, or those who actually profitted from Saddam's rule. As for the execution of the war and its aftermath, I do agree that the problems were preventable, which is why I have wondered how long it's going to take before we stop trying to do everything ourselves.
6) I agree 100% about the budget. If anything turns my opinion against Bush, this will be one of the major factors.
7) As usual, "tax cuts for the rich" is a slogan cooked up by those who believe in an even more lopsided tax curve. If only the rich pay most of the taxes, any tax cut that flattens the curve will obviously be seen as "favoring the rich." But it doesn't matter, as long as money is being spent more efficiently in the private and public sectors, rather than the inefficient bureaucracy that comes with any government agency.
8) I agree that we can handle our relationships with other countries a lot better. Once again, as soon as this administration figures out that even they can't do everything on their own, we'll make amends with those countries.
9) The Patriot Act hasn't even come close to the "police state" that many fear. Instead, its primary purpose is to give law enforcement the legal tools it needs to perform their duties without fundamentally infringing upon people's rights. It hasn't been perfect in avoiding every infringement possible, but tossing out the Patriot Act because of that is like tossing out the baby with the bathwater. As for "declaring war," name the last time Congress actually "declared war." As for Geneva conventions, the American military has been one of the strongest adherents to the Geneva convention. The failures, of course, are highlighted by the media, but the ratio of such instances to overall military power is extremely low. You can't say the same thing about ANY other nation's military, I guarantee you.
10) I agree that airport security gives more of the impression of security than actual security itself. I did notice a better streamlining of the security checkpoints once the TSA took over, which can be credited to Bush for what it's worth. But true security in the air isn't going to come from the government, but from the example shown by the passengers in Flight 93. And that's going to be a lot more effective than what Bush could ever hope to accomplish, much less be TONS more effective than the hand-waving alternatives the "Hate Bush" crowd could ever hope to come up with.
There, and I even kept my negative comments about the Bush-haters to a minimum. There are always many ways you can paint a picture, Ted, and there is hardly any way you can paint a more negative picture of what President Bush has done in the past four years. Of course, if Kerry gets elected, I can't wait for the "Anyone But Kerry" people to start painting with the same brush you are using right now.
Tenchusatsu |
