Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Hail to the Chief?

There is a good (and very long) article on Bush from Rolling Stone here.

I enjoyed the historical view point it took and the comparison to the actions of past good and bad presidents.

Bush has had many opportunities to be the "great uniter" he pledged to be in campaign speeches. Never before has a president had as high an approval rating as he once had. He could have used that power to truly make this a united country but has instead instituted a very singular agenda on the nation. He has constantly alienated not only his opposition but even many of the supporters he once had.

He needs to view his relationship with Americans as one should view a romantic relationship. Compromise is the key to being a couple, and should be the main agenda for a president ruling over a much divided nation. We understand, W, that you are a conservative Christian, but you need to understand that not all of us want those same restrictions in our lives.

We all need to get away from political name calling and totalitarian agendas and reach a compromise that both the left and the right can agree upon. Rather than alienating and attacking Democrats, he needs to be more able to work alongside them.

A great example of this was his recent comment that the National Anthem should only be sung in English. This country was built upon the backs of immigrants from all over the world. Our American culture is not something that was hanging around this continent when we arrived here (goodness knows we destroyed the culture that was already here), it is an amalgamation of all the different beliefs that people brought with them when they immigrated.

The ability to change and adapt is what has made us strong, yet he persists in trying to hold onto a past ideal of what this culture should have been, rather than looking forward to how great it could be if we all worked together.

[steps down off soap box, wipes hands on pants]

There, I said it.
Posted by timothy :: Direct Link 2 comments

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