We have been hearing this 'Bush knows what is best' for quite some time now - when will we see any evidence of this? I am being serious here. WE got a tax cut - that has evaporated - what else?
There has to come a time when even those who think he walks on water are going to have to admit that he may not know what he is doing, or that he may know exactly what he is doing and that is very frightening. "
Time will tell -- specifically, the next two years. But it looks like you are focusing on your own needs ("where's my tax cut") and not national needs. Your motives for criticizing Bush do not sound especially upright.
BTW, I equate the term "effective politician" not cynically (e.g., like those who think all politicians are crooked, and an effective politician is one who is especially good at getting away with it) but the way one would view Abe Lincoln as an effective politician. Everybody hated Abe during his two terms -- the Northerners, because he didn't hew to the party line for the newly formed Republican party, and the Southerners, for obvious reasons. Yet Abe was a man moved by his faith and his strong convictions. Time has proven him to be great. Read the books "Freedom" or "Lincoln" to get a glimpse at a President who led the nation through a very difficult time and was wholly unpopular. His own backers in some ways hated him more than his enemies in the South, whatever the issue -- taxes, slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation, conscription, conduct of the war, selection of military commanders, political alliances.
Is Bush a clone of Lincoln? Of course not. Yet, I think that the issues facing Bush are equally daunting. He has to steer a nation and a world into and through tense military times that could end satisfactorily or cause the eruption of a worldwide war. At the same time, he has the opportunity to have the most siginficant impact on the nation's economy that any President has had in a century. These things take time. And thankfully, most Americans are trusting him to do it right, not whining on the sidelines about how he isn't addressing their own pet issue.
There are two many Freepers who focus on their own little selfish project or issue, and yap and yammer away how Bush isn't doing this or that. Such narrow focus is beneath us. And, my guess is that those who complain most vigorously are ones who have never held leadership positions in their company or organization.
The issues facing our nation are weighty. I trust Bush's instincts and his decision-making ability. I do not think he walks on water. And, I will let the test of time prove whether my forecast is right or not. I would not trade places with him for all the money in the world. I also cannot conceive of another Republican whom I would rather have in the Oval Office.
His strange friendship with Fox and allowing Mexico to ignore the soveriegnty of this country. His continued support of illegal aliens and the worse than open border with Mexico - even though it has been proven that ME men are coming across the border - paying 30,000 a piece to drug runners to get them here.
He may be the first sitting President to criticize the Christian relgion because a Christian made a statement regarding another religion.
He, if not orchestrated than pushed, Lott's debacle. The congress and the executive office are/should be totally separate. HE crossed the line, publicly and in a big way.
He is getting dangerously close to playing the race card - has pushed more big spending measures than the Democrats - has often and loudly proclaimed 'Islam is a religion of peace' and threatened anyone who 'harrasses' them - while doing nothing in the same vein for the Christian or other religions in this country.
While pushing through more and more restrictive legislation for American people, he is protecting the rights of illegal aliens.
It took a year to check out the workers at the airports or to register ME aliens.
He is singling out Iraq for attack -why? They might/do/did/will have biological weapons. WEll, guess what? So do a lot of other countries. They might/do/did/will have connections with the terrorists - well guess what? Washington may be the only place in the world that doesn't know or suspect Saudi Arabia absolutely did have connections and financed many of them. We do know N. Korea has nuclear weapons and so does China. Both of those may very well be more of a threat to world stability and the US in particular than Iraq. It seems to me Iraq is pretty well contained. If we were afraid of them exporting biological warfare - wouldn't we have our borders and ports a little better manned. No we would rather make a 'regime change' over there. What exactly is our purpose for the war? We have big trouble brewing right here in our own hemisphere. This could, if not already, spill into this country.
There are two many Freepers who focus on their own little selfish project or issue, and yap and yammer away how Bush isn't doing this or that. Such narrow focus is beneath us. And, my guess is that those who complain most vigorously are ones who have never held leadership positions in their company or organization.
Now those may seem like 'selfish little issues, or narrow focus' but I consider them quite large. Since evidently you 'have held leadership positions in your company or organization', and I therefore I am unqualified to speak - what is a large issue? Do you realize how very frightening and insulting that statement was. It is saying, 'you are just too ignorant to even speak against the President - how dare you'. Did you really read that before you typed it? Do we now have to be qualified to have an opinion on the President or the direction of the country? Are you willing to extend that qualification into the voting booth also? Now those are your qualifications - suppose those in power have other qualifications in mind?
Well go ahead and rip to shreds and demean your fellow countrymen because we dare question the President - if it makes you feel better. It is quite chilling, however, this blind loyalty, and viciousness to anyone who questions the President.
These people are politicians - our employees. They have their own agenda. The best we can hope is their agenda and ours will mesh in places. But guess what, we have to always, no matter what party or what person is in office assume the emperor just might not have on any clothes.
The tone of the some of the speeches (all is well) (all will be well) seems like the tone I would imagine many of those European Jews used with each other behind those closed doors. They could not fathom that anything really bad could happen. I suspect it is the same for people down through the ages when their world is in serious danger. Nothing bad can happen - after all this is America - right <