Oh, I love Obama’s idea on [fill in the blank]. It is such a terrific idea. He is the greatest president ever. I am so proud to be an American right now.

It just doesn’t have that zing. It doesn’t fill the seats, but it never really has. It simply doesn’t light a fire under me. (I hinted towards the demise of the liberal blogosphere a year-and-half ago, when a democrat winning was becoming more and more likely, exactly because of Bush’s record and disapproval.¹)

Every person who was alive (voting age, knowledgeable) during the Bush administration will never forget it. I am sure that that could be said of any administration (except possibly Ford’s), but the Bush administration was my first. I was not old enough to vote for Clinton. My first vote in a presidential election was for Al Gore when I was twenty.²

Future children will come home from schools (in ten, twenty years) and ask their parents — “Why was Bush so hated? What did he do wrong?” — and everyone will answer the question differently.

This is how I would respond to the question, at least today, sincerely…

Never would I have imagined that the president would take such a horrible event — the tragedy of nine-eleven — and use it not only for personal political gain, but as an explicit smear tactic against any and all opponents or dissidents, on any and all issues or policies. Bush took a golden opportunity to bring a nation together, and he willingly and blatantly tore it apart. His administration exhibited the most divisive form of government, and the most invidious form of politics.

1. This phenomenon may only apply to me however.
2. This was not the first election in which I had ever voted. The first election that I would have been able to vote in was the mid-term general of 1998. I had come down with mononucleosis in the fall semester of my freshman year. The symptoms started on Halloween. I had stayed home that evening, and spent the entire month of November going in and out of the health center. I wouldn’t have been able to vote even if I was registered, which I wasn’t. It is still something I regret. I have never not voted, primary or special, since.

Yes, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice may have been surprised by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — but it was because they had not listened. And their surprise led them to adopt extreme counterterrorism techniques — but it was because they rejected, without analysis, the tactics the Clinton administration had used. The measures they uncritically adopted, which they simply assumed were the best available, were in fact unnecessary and counterproductive.

Read his book. (The details are overwhelming.)

In January, Bush will begin bringing troops home from Iraq, calling for reconciliation with European allies, and begin talking in his Connecticut voice, and not the forced Texas drawl.

In February, on the eve of President’s Day, Bush will personally write an executive order removing “In God We Trust” from the nation’s currency, replacing it with the original U.S. motto, “e pluribus unum.”

In March, Bush will ask the vice-president to resign disgracefully, by walking out the White House, down the Mall, and up to the Capitol Building stark naked. Bush will ask Al Gore to fill the vice-president’s position for the rest of his term. Gore will accept.

In April, the U.S. president will end all corporate farm subsidies.

In May, Dubya will reduce the tax rate on all incomes below $200,000 and make college tuition tax deductible (for incomes less than $200,000).

In June, on the eve of Flag Day, the president will make a trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, and personally apologize to the voters who erroneously voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000, inadvertently putting Bush into office. Bush will also thank them.

In July, with the consent of Congress, the president of the United States will end the federal war on drugs.

In August, the president will take the unusual step of endorsing a third-party candidate for president, making the statement, “It is time for fundamental change at the heart of the government.”

In September, with a lot of scrutiny in doing so, Bush will sign the 28th amendment, reversing the undemocratic 22nd amendment which limits the president to two full terms in office (or a maximum of 10 years). The amendment will not be retroactive.

In October, President Bush and Vice-President Gore, together, drive a hybrid vehicle from Baltimore to St. Louis, in an effort to advertise the new law requiring automobile manufacturers to meet 100 miles per gallon fuel efficiency on all vehicles by 2030.

In November, the president and his family will spend Thanksgiving in Iraq.

In December, the president will not decorate the White House for the holiday season, but spend that money instead paying down the national debt.

This final calendar year of President Bush will showcase all that is good from the boy from New Haven; he’s just been too embarrassed to show it.

It is a new year.

8:02am
Birds still singing, no sign of Bush. Oh, there he is. “Please be seated.”

8:02am
Bush: “My members of Congress.” Huh?

8:03am
Bush quotes the Iraq Study Group. What has happened over this past year? Oh yea, the Democrats regained control of Congress.

8:06am
Bush mentions a catch-and-release immigration policy, similar to the fishing license for the San Francisco Bay.

8:07am
Bush: “[An immigration policy that] let’s us know who is in this country and where they are.” Where am I?

8:14am
Bush stumbles and bumbles on a long answer about the status of the war in Iraq.

8:15am
Obviously a planted question about China currency. (Obvious, in my opinion.)

8:16am
Bush: “China must convert their economy from savers to consumers.” Give those Chinese a credit card, two or three of them.

8:17am
Bush: “China must be eating U.S. beef. They’ll like it. It’s good for them.”

8:21am
A harsh question from NBC’s David Gregory, “How do you believe you still have credibility in the war on terror?”

8:22am
Bush: “I’m credible.” Uh-huh.

8:24am
Bush: “People think we can leave the terrorists alone and we will be fine.” Who? Dennis Kucinich?

8:24am
Bush: “The terrorists are a threat to your children, David [Gregory].” Ouch, a personal touch.

8:26am
Who cares what Osama bin Laden says — he is a terrorist. Bush is giving bin Laden exactly what he wants — attention. Bush is spreading fear.

8:30am
Bush: “The Middle East looked nice and cozy for awhile.” When?

8:31am
Bush: “Democracy is difficult work.” Especially with a democratic Congress.

8:37am
Bush: “[Bin Laden] is a danger to your children, Jim [reporter who asked the question].” Another personal touch.

8:38am
Bush: “[Bin Laden] is not out there feeding the hungry.” Good point.

8:41am
Bush: “Our credibility is on the line in the Middle East.” Thanks to… whom?

8:52am
Bush: “I want to thank you for your interest.” And then Bush storms off.

* Beatles song.

In an attempt to throw water on the fire, the conservative Weekly Standard published a rebuke at those who have alleged that the president acted illegally and offered an excuse for the president’s extra-legal actions.

One can begin from the fact that the American Constitution made the first republic with a strong executive. A strong executive is one that is not confined to executing the laws but has extra-legal powers such as commanding the military, making treaties (and carrying on foreign policy), and pardoning the convicted, not to mention a veto of legislation. To confirm the extra-legal character of the presidency, the Constitution has him take an oath not to execute the laws but to execute the office of president, which is larger.

Thus it is wrong to accuse President Bush of acting illegally in the surveillance of possible enemies, as if that were a crime and legality is all that matters. This is simplistic, small-r republican thinking of the kind that our Constitution surpassed when it constructed a strong executive.

Source: CBS News

The sin of this, from the president’s viewpoint, is that Bush probably would have received the appropriate warrants to conduct such surveillance. And just as “ditto-heads” state today, “I am not upset, I have nothing to fear; I haven’t been breaking the law; go ahead, Mr. Bush, you have unlimited extra-legal powers,” we can turn that on Bush and his supporters: if you were performing surveys on al Qaeda, and not the general public, why not get a warrant, if you were breaking no law? (Is this mirroring the scene from “A Few Good Men,” or is it just me?)

(1) Did George W. Bush cause the events of nine-eleven? No.

(2) Was George W. Bush the reason there was (and is) much hatred for the U.S.? No.

(3) Did the events of nine-eleven occur under George W. Bush’s watch? Yes.

(4) Did George W. Bush do anything (move heaven or earth) to prevent the horrific attacks? No.

Were the horrific events of nine-eleven preventable? We will never know. Bush says they were not; he refers to it as that “fateful day.” What we do know is that the Bush administration was negligent in its pursuit of terrorist networks and ignorant of the threat they posed. We also know that the administration put Iraq, Russia, and China, illegal drugs and prostitution on a higher priority than terrorism.

The famous August 6, 2001, presidential daily briefing warned Bush that terrorists were determined to strike. Was this information dated? Was there actionable intelligence? We have no idea. What we do know is that after reading that memo (during his month-long vacation at his Crawford ranch in Texas) he played a round af golf and told reporters that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world. (Even then he played that angle.)

It is despicable for Bush to use that day to further his political career. No sitting president has presided over an attack of that magnitude on home soil. Yet Bush uses it as campaign cry at rallies. Bush attacks Kerry and all critics of the administration as being unpatriotic. Republicans send fliers to voters emblazoned with the infamous date and how they will fight terror and liberals simply will not. The GOP applies fear tactics in its campaigns as the only means to garner support.

Bush didn’t cause nine-eleven, but surely he did nothing to stop it.

…to clean up the environment?

– Let the polluters regulate the polluters. (Because pollution doesn’t really exist, it’s just been made up over the years by the environmental wackos and PhDs at Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, Syracuse, MIT, et cetera. “They know nothing; I know all.”)

…to decrease foreign oil dependency?

– Drill for oil in preserved lands and tax-breaks for oil companies. (Because oil is god. And let’s face it: Conservation doesn’t make anyone of my friends more wealthy.)

…to help the economy?

– Cut taxes for the rich. (Because money is thicker than water.)

…to fight forest fires?

– Cut down the trees. (You must get the tree before the tree gets you.)

…to make peace?

– Alienate allies and make threats: “You are either with us or against us.”

…to help the troops?

– Challenge the enemy: “Bring ‘em on.”

…to win an election?

– Have your first cousin call the election in your favor for Fox News at 2:16am after everyone goes to sleep.

Bush appointed a horrible administrator in Whitman, who had a horrific environmental record as Governor of New Jersey. She wasn’t allowed to do her job however. The President controlled the EPA, using the agency as a stepping stone for his policies. The EPA has been forced to bury environmental report after report concerning global warming, and hide the realities of the air quality dangers in Manhattan after the terrorist attack.

The newly appointed Mike Leavitt’s chief role as head of the EPA will be to dismantle the entire agency and leave the remains for the states. (Too many states are willing to forgo many environmental regulation for sake of industry and economy.)

When two 100+ floor towers fall in an urban center, dust fills the air, containing hazardous particulates. It is the job for the EPA to determine the dangers and to report to the people their findings. The President did not allow the EPA to report their findings, putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk.

“EPA was convinced to omit from its early public statements guidance for cleaning indoor spaces and tips on potential health effects from airborne dust containing asbestos, lead, glass fibers and concrete.” (CBS News, 8/22/03)

The President gone beyond his power by lying to the American people what the goverment has known about environmental concerns from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it’s aftermath to the reality of global warming.

However, when the Secretary of State has zero-say in the decisions made in foreign policy (as is the surrent situation) and the plea for peace is muted, this criteria is not met, and thus foreign policy decisions are purely military-based.

The President should always hear the extreme sides of foreign policy matters (the hawks from Defense, the doves from State) and make a balanced, educated decision on the issue or conflict. This is not the current method in the Oval Office, unfortunately.

Note: Every cirumstance certainly does not have to meet these criteria, e.g., Hitler, Al-Qaeda, whereas the only solution is military resolve.