Is he as bad as Clinton? Few men are. Bush is a good man. But his vision is way too far left for me. I cannot reconcile his agenda and my own concept of what this nation should be.
His political background is as a governor. That tends to be a position of deal-making that has a nature he still demonstrates; as a governor, there is a certain amount of assets with which to negotiate politically.
But as a president, the limitation of power is much more substantial at the federal level. For example, as a governor, he could order your arrest on many matters, where as president, he cannot.
He really hasn't much knowledge of the history of the Constitution and has unfortunately settled for cryptic memos of opinion from lawyers. Sheesh; lawyers, in general, are hardly reliable on the Constitution.
There are so many practical applications of principles from history, from the foundations of our Liberty, from experience in applied science, from experience in making things work via resourcefulness which comes from within ... which George W. Bush has missed out on in his life.
Being President is certainly a learning experience; but Bush resists on-the-job training by method of his organizational practices --- they inhibit his having to get his hands on things.
He tries hard to cover many bases in a day, but he does so at considerable expense to such times when he should really get dirt under his fingernails.
Sadly, understanding the experience of the Founding Fathers, and how they engaged failure analysis of all their predecessors' governments and governance, which understanding they acquired from educations nearly superior to the standards of today in most places ... that understanding requires some devotion to study.
If he would take the time.
We do not need a FreeCorps.
Rather, for example, he could have immediately passed the word to all the governors of the United States, to make a request for people who would volunteer to fulfill reserve duties at the local fire department, police department, medical facilities, and some transportation activities, to train on the weekends at the local county fairgrounds ... for preparation in the event of greater public need, to put it mildly.
Bush could have, and he should have, mentioned the idea within days of Sept. 11, 2001.
Instead, he works with his limited knowledge of the toolbox he grew up with; unaware and not giving the time to all the other tools which are available.