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Nope, not referring to swiftvets, though I dislike their tactics as I dislike it no matter which side takes the character assasination route. Kerry is clearly too much the intellectual for many people's tastes, but as the mom and mom-in-law of two soldiers, I didn't appreciate the swiftvets' disparaging his service any more than I appreciate the dems going on a witchhunt to try to disparage President Bush's service.

Military service is a keenly emotional topic guaranteed to be divisive, and in this respect one was just as guilty as the other in my own view. In both cases their stridency and the fact that they each had a dog in the fight (so to speak) made it very difficult to tell what the truth really was, especially for people without the patience, desire, time, skills and resources to dig very deeply for something objective, if such even existed. What is more outrageous to me is this is precisely the goal, not to be truthful, but to cast reasonable doubt in hopes of swaying voters to their side. The spin docs count on people soon tiring of trying to figure out what is what and deciding to believe what they want to believe. But is it the truth? Maybe so, and maybe no.

No, as far as President Bush is concerned, I think he made a grave error in deciding to support a constitutional amendment on the marriage issue. As he has been quoted recently, he was earning political capital, but at the expense of alienating moderate liberals who see such a stance as lacking in compassion, even hostile toward people who are Americans like anyone else. If that's where it ended, knowing such an amendment has little chance of success would perhaps let him off the hook, but it set off a chain of events where the states hastened to amend their own constitutions, and that's a much bigger issue to those who care about such things. In their view it unjustly denies people who aren't hurting anyone equal rights on, once again, a very personal, highly divisive issue, the right to be a family, if a different sort of family, with the same rights and obligations married people are afforded.

Likewise, announcing an intention to place as many strongly conservative supreme court justices like Justice Reinquist on the bench knowing this will fan the flames of that most emotional of issues, the abortion debate, was also divisive. The president may have good intentions and be following his own conscience, but to many people, his conscience is not all that counts.

It is that kind of step taken while remaining silent about and appearing to be unsympathetic toward what many Americans do want that signals to those who care about such issues that President Bush doesn't truly serve them.

By the way, these are not your ultra liberal progressive fans of Michael Moore. They, too, are middle class people of faith, law abiding citizens who work as hard as any blue collar conservative and love America just as much, who want to give their kids a good upbringing and a good education, who pay their taxes just like the president's more conservative supporters and who help their kids say their prayers at night. They also resent that conservatives have co-opted the concept of morality, as if only republicans have good morals. It's terribly unjust and bound to make enemies of people who might otherwise have been much more receptive.

Many of these same folks believe that freedom of religion is protected by the concept of separation of church and state, and that though abortion is a very serious step they might not choose for themselves, it should ultimately be the woman's right to choose. On these issues I understand their concerns and, frankly, agree with them. (Yes, there is a bit of libertarian in me.) Many of my conservative friends would have me believe that these are not legitimate values, but I value freedom and empowering individuals, as Papasmurf referenced, too much to dismiss them out of hand, as President Bush gives the impression that he does, lacking information and actions to the contrary.

This is not to say that these folks don't respect and appreciate President Bush on other issues, but from what I can see, they are disappointed by what seems to be his tendency to act according to the will of some of the people, but not all of the people. That's surely a fine line to walk, but he is the president, and that is his lot.

YMMV,
Polygirl