|
Edited on Wed Sep-13-06 12:19 AM by rpannier
I'm Glad Bush is the President
When I reflect on all that has happened since 9/11, I must say how glad I am that it was Bush and not Gore or Kerry that has been occupying the White House. When the two planes struck the WTC Towers, a third struck the Pentagon and the fourth lay in a field in Pennsylvania, George Bush and his administration did not flinch. They saw the opportunity and set out to demonize the Democratic Party and anyone who showed any dissension.
Had Gore been President, he probably would have met with leaders of both Parties, came up with a comprehensive plan that most people could have agreed on and went with it. This administration did the prudent thing. Working with the other Party can be taxing on ones nerves and it might have forced the President to accept different possibilities on how to deal with such a horrific event.
On the International Front, Bush also did not falter. "You're either for us or against us." he wailed. French President Chirac (who was the first European leader to call and visit after 9/11) was supportive in Afghanistan, but was critical of the US position on Iraq. Did Bush hold a meeting with Chirac to find common ground? Did Bush attempt to build a wide coalition of countries to aid in this crisis? No. That's something Kerry would have done -- and his father did.
Bush decided to go it practically alone. And anybody, especially the French, who criticized our position was immediately demonized from the highest towers as false friends and cowards.
Bush has been keeping us safe at home by engaging in warrant-less phone taps of our phones. I mean, Al Qa-eda could be calling their friends in the US and planning for an assault on Nebraska or Indiana as we speak, were it not for the program. I'm just disappointed that the NY Times told people about the program. I mean, just because the Administration had mentioned this program and many others like it in speeches and on the White House web site doesn't give the Times the right to tell people about it.
As for Iraq. Bush has said the commander-in-chief must not waver and he hasn't. When General Shiseki (spelling is probably wrong) said we'd need at least a half-million men to secure Iraq, Bush did not waver in his commitment to our armed forces. He removed Shiseki from his position and replaced him with someone who agreed with the Administrations assessment. That gentlemen is leadership. He didn't allow the facts to get in the way of what he wanted to do.
When it comes to supporting our troops, who could be more of a supporter than Bush? He's cut their benefits, made it more difficult for them to get the medical help they need, improperly equipped them for combat and extended the service in Iraq for thousands of reserve and guardsmen -- mostly at last minute notice. Who can quibble with these decisions? By doing this, Bush is helping cut the deficit by cutting these services. These cuts in benefits while on duty will keep the men from 'lounging around some hospital receiving unnecessary care for missing limbs or 'shell-shock.' By keeping these men and women from coming home and returning to their jobs it helps the economy by keeping the unemployment rate down. If they came home, the unemployment rate would probably go up...and none of us want that.
So, you can see why I'm Glad that Bush is the President. Who knows what might have happened had Gore been sitting in the White House on 9/11? We might have routed the Taliban in Afghanistan, captured Bin Laden, not had hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Iraq, still had the respect of most of the world, still had that annoying budget surplus and we might still have an economy that benefited more than just the wealthy.
Thank God that didn't happen.
|