Volume II. No. 50
 06-04-04
 Three Good Reasons To Dump George Bush
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2004
 

 The appointment of Ghazi Yawar this week as Iraq's interim president signals 
 that the second phase of the American occupation of that nation is coming 
 to a conclusion. Baring a precipitous decline in the already perilous fortunes 
 of this conflict after June 30th, the attention of the American public will turn 
 once again to the upcoming presidential election.

 Here then are several good reasons for a regime change in the United States.

 I. Personal Image

 The image a candidate projects in public should NEVER stand as the singular 
 reason to reject that person for the presidency. Besides, if a candidate has 
 received a political party's nomination as the top guy { or girl } on the ticket, 
 then obviously, that nominee has some appealing personal qualities. But, as 
 it stands for George Walker Bush this country has watched him for almost 
 four years and now it is time to pass judgement upon him, as to whether he 
 has filled that office adequately.

 In George Bush's individual case, image is indeed a reason for voters to turn
 away from him this time around, and to refuse to reelect him into the nation's 
 highest elected office. Perhaps never before in the history of our proud nation 
 - and at a  time when the world has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity - has 
 a President of the United States been so reviled. George Bush repulses people 
 simply because of his personal arrogance, smugness in front of the television
 cameras, and aura of sanctimony.

 This man never served in combat himself, and yet he relentlessly challenges 
 the patriotism of those who oppose him whenever he sends young men and 
 women off to some faraway land to die for God and Country.

 Bush seems to have relatively little appreciation for the culture and history 
 of other nations. Local history is extremely important when deciding how
 to deal with people who have a different way of life. But in the case of our 
 current president, it is as if he can never understand that when an American 
 cowboy rides in on a White Horse with the good-natured intention of saving 
 people from themselves, such an uninvited appearance is not always a good 
 thing in the long term. 

 George Bush in a word scares people. He is the very embodiment of the 
 unsophisticated American who thinks he knows it all. And the idea that the 
 world's sole remaining superpower is in the hands of a politician who views 
 EVERYTHING in stark black and white terms makes people the world over 
 uncomfortable.

 Under this man's tutelage the international prestige of America has declined
 to the point that we are regarded as ruthless imperialist conquerors no less 
 so than the British during the time of their great empire. The United States
 is mentioned derisively in concert with that of ancient Rome. -- All of this in 
 just four short years.

 Americans were once welcomed in countless nations as friend and never 
 foe. America's government was once beloved. The words freedom and 
 democracy - as they related to American standards - were never feared, 
 nor regarded with the slightest suspicion. George Bush in his brief time as 
 president has taken a hammer to what the word "American" means to people. 
 And he seems completely oblivious to that fact, as if blinded by his own 
 arrogant, narrow-minded, and simplistic world view.

 If only the man could humble himself. Or admit a mistake. But, alas he
 apparently cannot. America needs to present a new face to the world.

 Personal image in George Bush's case is mere reason enough to vote 
  against him this coming fall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 II. Bad Foreign Policy

 The disaster that was 9/11 shook the United States to the core, and introduced
 the world to a new era of stateless terrorism. Al Qaeda is the very embodiment
 of evil. A twisted cause that has turned an ancient religion upside down.

 In the weeks following the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City,
 the world was with the United States in spirit, and many nations were at least
 willing to offer their American friends more than kind words. Pakistan became
 an uneasy ally. And before long the Taliban were vanquished in Afghanistan.

 Then a political disaster struck with whirlwind force. Faulty intelligence was
 given forth - at the United Nations of all places - as a justification for the invasion 
 of Iraq. If ever there was a misguided war, the ill-advised invasion of Iraq was 
 just that.

 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld refused to place the necessary troops 
 on location to ensure the safety of the citizens of Iraq after the major battles 
 were done with. This lack of foresight precipitated a disaster on the ground 
 in Iraq of momentous proportions. Iraqi national treasures were looted. 

 Sometimes while outnumbered American soldiers stood by silently watching.

 The infrastructure of the nation has all but been destroyed. The streets are 
 unsafe. Bandits and murderers prowl the countryside at will. Insurgents cross 
 the borders of neighboring states to add to the chaos. Iranian operatives are
 everywhere trying to influence events into their favor
.
 And yet there is still a  stubborn refusal by this administration to include the 
 rest of the world. No effort has been made to yield a little, so as to acquire the 
 international assistance that is so badly needed to help stabilize the situation
 in Iraq.

 Then there was the sadistic torture at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
 And there can be no doubt whatsoever that the underlying cause of the illegal
 acts at Abu Ghraib was Donald Rumfeld's well-publicized pronouncement that 
 the "enemy combatants" imprisoned at Guantonamo Bay, Cuba were not 
 deserving of the safeguards provided by the Geneva Convention protocols. 
 { thus setting the stage for barbarous acts carrried out by the Americans at
 Abu Ghraib} And yet, this man remains in office while the soldiers on the 
 point, are quickly subject to military justice and public ridicule. Their reputations 
 possibly ruined for a lifetime.

This is the foreign policy of George Walker Bush. The buck stops nowhere.
 Certainly not on his desk.

 Incompetence is ignored. Excuses are tolerated. Meanwhile, the number of 
 U.S. military casualties in Iraq grow larger by the day. And there is little hope 
 that American troops will be able to leave the Iraqi quagmire for home in the
 near future.

 A resounding "NO" to George Bush on foreign policy, as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 III. Religious Intolerance

 Ironic is it not, that the misadventure in Iraq has been partly justified by the
 so-called global war against terrorism. A globe-spanning conflagration against 
 religious thugs who despise any notion of morality or civil life different from 
 their own twisted ideals. While here on the homefront we have domestic political 
 policy shaped by the strict, inflexible, religious conservatism of the current 
 president. 

 The crisis of the moment may be that of spectacularly high gasoline prices.
 Or George Tenet's long overdue resignation from the CIA. But, this country 
 is currently faced with several deeply divisive social issues, the consequences 
 derived from how these issues are dealt with today, may have repercussions 
 for generations to come. Thus, we are in dire need of a president who can be 
 an inpirational leader of all of the people, and not just to those Americans 
 whose social and political leanings mirror his own.

 George Bush claimed that he would be a uniter and not a divider. But as 
 his political prospects for November 04 have dimmed, he has sought to 
 unite his conservative political base around the hot-button issue of gay 
 marriage.  George W. Bush has even gone so far as to propose a constitutional
 admendment to ban such unions. Thus precluding any - if such an 
 admendment were to pass - state in the Union from legally recognizing 
 gay marriages.

 The homosexual rights issue deeply divides people. But to propose an 
 actual constitutional admendment as a means to forestall debate or to 
 prevent meaningful social change in the years to come, is cynical in the 
 extreme. Never before in modern times has an admendment been proposed 
 to purposely deny the rights of a recognized minority. Or as Senator Ted 
 Kennedy has been quoted as saying "...President Bush will go down in 
 history as the first president to try to write discrimination back into 
 the Constitution."

 The president's religious beliefs are parallel to many Americans on both
 sides of the political spectrum. But this issue requires a man in the White
 House who can put aside for a moment his own religious convictions - no 
 matter how painful that process might be - in order to do what is best for 
 the country.

 Not just for the America of today, but for the country America is to become
 in the decades to follow this era. Religious-based bigotry does not belong 
 in America's most prized political document. There are other methods of
 dealing with the gay rights dilemma. Superior methods to squashing the 
 debate before it has even fully begun.

 The president's proposed constitutional admendment holds the danger of
 forever diminishing the stature of that aged piece of parchment in the eyes
 of some future American populace.

 The nation needs a president who will see the wisdom in being deliberate
 in his approach to the controversial social issues of the day. The continuing 
 battle to again deny women's abortion rights, as well as the strict banning 
 of almost all government funded stem cell research are issues that cry for 
 openness and honest dialogue - not demagoguery - based upon the chief
 executive's personal religious beliefs.

 Add to this mix the horrifying likelihood that several Supreme Court justices 
 may not survive on the bench  - literally - past 2008. Bush's last year in 
 office should he be reelected. Should this particular president have the 
 opportunity to nominate one or more new justices, tolerance may become 
 a word that is all but banished from any future court deliberations.

 The current president's strict political conservatism is based upon the 
 prejudices of the past. What is needed in the White House now is a deep 
 thinker. A man of profound intellectualism and political insight. Not a 
 president who must rely on his own base political instincts, such that 
 he is more than willing to appeal to fear and intolerance - if not outright 
 hatred - in order to secure a second term in the White House.

 George Bush said he was a uniter. In his four years he has been anything
 but that. The coming election must yield a chief executive who can win 
 political battles with grace and magnanimity, and who has the personal
 aplomb to lose a skirmish or two with a sense of humility and introspection. 
 -- Not religious indignation. A man who can reach beyond his own political 
 base and connect to the other side of the aisle.

 No, to the "divider" in 2004.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The above described three categories are the failings of George W. Bush. 
 He has led America to a dark place. We are reviled abroad and deeply divided 
 on the homefront. 

 If ever a change was due at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Now is that moment 
 in our nation's history.
 

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