Dear OpusatFR,
"'Middle America shouted its impatience. It wasn't that it so liked George Bush, more that it was so tired of Bush's critics.'
"Oh Good Grief. Here's another one who doesn't get it. I could care less and certainly don't listen to celebrities with less education, experience, and knowledge than I.
"I LIKE GWB. I approve of his worldview and his tactics. I believe that he is taking the world on a journey that will free it from not only the facism that pervades Islam, but also wrenching the world back from the brink of socialism and Marxist ideology."
The column generalizes, and like all good generalizations, it isn't true in every specific case. I like W, too. And this may be the weakest part of the column.
Nonetheless, there are a lot of things that President Bush has done that have given me pause. No Child Left Behind Act. Increased spending on NEA. McCain-Feingold. Immigration policy. Compromise on embryonic stem cell research.
We could go on. There are plenty of reasons why conservatives might be a little uneasy with W. And the truth is, a lot of mushy-middle Americans are uneasy with him, too. But many politically-moderate folks are squishy on George for the same reasons why conservatives stuck with him. I'm 100% behind the war on terror, the war in Afaghanistan, the war in Iraq. I look forward to lower taxes, permanent tax cuts, Social Security reform, Federal Marriage Amendment, school choice, etc.
But a lot of mushy-middle Americans are scared by some of these very same things, and are comforted by the very things that upset conservatives. The support President Bush enjoys is from a coalition of conservatives and moderates that in many ways are very much in tension with each other. He has presided over, and expanded, that coalition successfully, but not always with an abundance of grace.
As much as I vote FOR George W. Bush, I was also pretty much an ABK voter, as well: Anybody But Kerry. I think that this author picks up on that.
sitetest
We both can agree that there are things that GWB has done that give pause, but overall, he has vision.
I think that vision is what has unhinged the left. They can't challenge what he has begun without giving away their stance as Marxists. Hence the namecalling and insane hate. They slather and drool with it.