Some Stuff about George W. Bush I don't like . . .
1. He brags about not reading or keeping himself up to date with world events.
2. He also brags about "shooting from the gut" when making decisions, rather than really thoroughly evaluating all angles and being cautious. (he's the leader of the free world for god's sake!)
3. He's not a good speaker of intelligent debater. This represents our country poorly. The president ought to be an articulate and smart person, not a talking head that people vote for because they think they can relate to him. Bush is blue-blooded son of privelage from one of the most wealthy and powerful dynasties in our nation's history. Trust me, very few of you can relate to him, I don't care how many pictures you've seen of him in front of his truck out in Crawford.
4. He likely would have achieved nothing in his life without his family name and wealth. (this is speculation, but think about it for a moment. Yale, Harvard, oil companies and and investments, most of which he bankrupted by the way, just handed to him? He may be afable to a a degree, but he would be a mediocre man without his familial advantage).
5. Bush's economics have failed. He took a record surplus and blew into an enormous defecit, and this was not the the result of 9/11, Afghanistan, or Iraq. He spends recklessly, at the expense of future generations (and those of you that might have been looking forward to colelcting any social security). Those of you that identify as conservative and republican ought to investigate the fact that most fiscally conservative economists and theorists are aghast at Bush's wildy irresponsible spending and budgeting.
6. Bush campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" who would change the tone in Washington and try to work across party lines to achieve better government. He has not done this. If anything his term has fueled antagonism between the parties and he has not made a single overture to stop it.
7. Bush talked up his no child left behind plan extensively. Then he blocked measures to fully fund it, which in fact left several million children, ahem, behind. If you have children I encourage you to do some independent research into Bush's record so far as education goes, I promise you will not like what you find.
8. When a senior member of Bush's administration leaked the fact that former ambassador Joe Wilson's wife was a CIA operative (Wilson had written an article for the NY times a week before that was critical of the president in regard to the Iraq war) to journalist Robert Novak, Bush did not take immediate action or particularly make a big deal out of it. This is technically an act of treason against our government by a member of his staff, but he opposed an investigation into the matter. The leak has still not been identified. Isn't it our presidents responsibilty to find out which member of his staff is responsible for this act, committed during a time of war? Those of you Clinton bashers, just imagine if old Bill had been in office for this. I do believe you would have been howling that he be executed, at long last exposed as the sleazy, anti-US communist monster that he is. Just imagine it, be honest. The GOP would have called for imprisonment, maybe execution.
9. Bush has undone years of progressive and hard won environmental legislation. I don't care if you're not an environmentalist, I'm certainly not, if you investigate the consequences of his policy you will see that he has severely damaged our natural resources, water supply, and endangered or degraded the lives of many Americans in his race to prostrate himself before big industry and their support. Once again, he has placed the GOP and his own personal gain as a priority above the longevity of the health of our vital resources and environment. Future generations pay the price for his short gains.
10. He mixes religion into the presidency to an uncomfortable degree. The architect of our constiution and bill of rights, James Madison, was extremely clear in stating that church and state must be seperate entities. Nearly our entire perception of American Freedom and Liberty is drawn from this man's work, as well as Jefferson, who agreed whole heartedly. Bush invokes the name of God in regard to his own policy at every opportunity. He proposes to use federal money to fund religious organizations. He let's religious views inform his policy on funding for scientific research programs and education. He is the acknowledged de facto leader of the American religious right. It also a credible and publicly available fact that he has consulted with representatives from a far right wing Christian group at the white house on numerous occasions. These fundamentalists believe in a forthcoming end of days, and hence are very supportive of Israel, as they believe all Jews must be gathered in the holy land so that they can stand before the fiery judgment of god.
This doesn't even get into foreign policy, his record as governor, the Florida election, ect., but cripes! I don't understand why conservatives support Bush, the only things he's really conservative on are societal and moral issues like abortion and stem cell research, and that once more is directly placating the religious crowd. Here's a fact - the CIA released a report that estimated there had been an increase in the number of operating anti-US terrorists during Bush's term in office. The Bush administration, the day before, had declared otherwise. They had to sheepishly retract this, although they did fight hard to try and get the CIA to squash their report, but it was too late. He's not getting the job done. And unless you're a wealthy corporate donor or you can deliver a significant number of swing voters for him in a battleground state in November, he abosultely positively does not give two shits about you. He is not a compassionate man, a smart man, or a talented man. He's a talking head that spouts opinions that please a certain percentage of the voting block that consider themselves "conservatives." Don't be fooled, a true conservative wouldn't have anything to do Bush.