The mistake most people make in public forums is thinking that success is changing everybody else -- rather than achieving your own highest understanding, in clarifying and articulating it. If, through your participation and interaction with others, you become a better person, that is what society and culture is all about. And I do think we've all become better through the freerepublic. Fully 95% of those things said here, would otherwise not be seen anywhere else.
It seems over the last several years that most people who follow the news and political developments, think the object is to tell the president what to do, how to run the country -- instead of being president themselves, and having the right and responsibility of making those decisions. But more importantly, everybody has their own part to play, and in doing that, makes their greatest contribution because even the president can't be doing everything -- yet that seems to be the expectation and perception -- that only the president can do anything, and the rest can only try to sway his decisions. That vision of society and government is a very inefficient and ineffective one -- fostered by the seniority-heavy newspapers, at which everyone has reached the top-tier and so nobody goes out and does any investigation and interviews, and lacking that information, the easiest thing to do is bash-Bush because that's what all the other columnists are doing.
So because they've lost their ability to find out, they spend all day, as ignorant people are wont to do, expressing their unsolicited advice and opinions on what the president (and everybody else for that matter), ought to be doing for them, to please them. In another age, these were regarded as simply imperious, senile people, but because of increased life spans and no-layoff contracts no matter how demented they become, they are allowed to crowd out all the talented young voices of merit. That is why we need forums like these and your participation.
Ironic that a comment like this would be made on a forum dedicated to discussing politics. What? We can discuss only so long as we praise the Administration? If you don't want to read give-and-take regarding politicians, you sure picked the wrong place.
I suspect it's because of foolishness like this that the thread was authored.