| Let's look at the facts. Bush was born privileged and he used this privilege, like so many others, to avoid combat in Vietnam. For the last two years of his NG service, there is a dearth of evidence, both in Alabama and Massachusetts. For the first 20+ years of his adult life he was an alcoholic and probably only read the sports pages for his enlightenment. His oil ventures, which were financed significantly by the Saudis (who had a relationship with his father) were a bust. His privilege allowed him to get involved in baseball and his investment in the Rangers became highly profitable after a new stadium was built using public funds.
Bush's two terms as governor were mediocre. Texas shared in the general prosperity of the nation; its performance was unremarkable. Also in Texas, the governor has significantly fewer responsibilities than the governorships of other states like California. Interestingly, he never made one visit to the Houston Space Center. This is a man who wants the U.S. to spend scores of billions to send a man to mars.
As president, Bush has 1) made the rich richer with tax breaks on income, capital gains, dividends, and estates; 2) committed the U.S. to another Vietnam type war, a war condemned by most of our traditional allies, i.e. Canada and Mexico; 3) and made the federal surplus transmogrify into an unprecedented deficit, while ignoring the tremendous burdens of Social Security and Medicare looming on the near horizon.
More facts. The two front war has depleted the capabilities of our armed forces. Ben Laden roams free, and there is no security in Iraq, where the situation appears to be getting worse. It's sad and worrisome that national guard personnel are required to serve up to 15 months in Iraq or Afghanistan (the Vietnam tour was one year). Forget about the talk about invading Iran, the U.S. does not have the manpower for a third front. The Iraq war has only the most tenuous relationship with the war on terror, and the billions squandered there has taken funds from local law enforcement.
Although I lived for more than a half century, I can't remember when the U.S. has been more isolated from the rest of the world. Terrorism is international and requires close cooperation with the rest of the world, cooperation based on trust and respect. Bush's unilateral approach assumes that the U.S. can do it all. We shall see.
The wealthy have benefited enormously from the Bush administration, and their children will never, never serve in Afghanistan or Iraq. And if his economic policies prove disastrous, their affluence will shelter them from the financial ravages that the rest of us will have to suffer. The rich don't need Social Security or Medicare.
Bush critics like myself are predicting that Iraq was a costly mistake and that Bush's economic policies are a recipe for disaster. If Bush is re-elected and our predictions come true, at least we won't have the guilt of making the biggest mistake of our lives. |