Open Secrets Wrote:RebelKev Wrote:If it bothers you, I will take it down. No one has ever asked me to and the ones I see of Bush are WWWWAY over the line. Try getting a Dem to do the same. Don't ***** when you haven't brought it up until now.
.....and you show me some of the blowhards on this board that have respect for Bush because he's the president.
It's not that it bothers me in a derogatory sense. It just saddens me that it is what politics in this country seems to have come to.
I wouldn't classify myself as a Democrat or Republican, but as someone who dislikes Bush's policy, I have extreme respect for him as President.
And I sincerely hope you would acknowledge either Bush or Kerry as "President Bush" or "President Kerry" should either be elected.
There are A LOT of people who agree with what you are saying in this thread, rest assured. Way more than anyone on television ever realizes.
People like Michael Moore, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Al Franken LOVE to divide this country and ENCOURAGE bitterness and hate because it helps them sell books, movies, and ratings. Hate speech has become an industry in this country, and its killing our politics.
It was the hatred of the extreme left that I saw during the summer that drove me into being a Bush supporter, despite the fact that I am a VERY centrist Democrat. BUT, lately I've realized that there is only one person responsible for the divisiveness in this country, and its President Bush. I like the guy, actually. I just think that his influenced to much by Karl Rove, his policy influenced too much by an arrogant and increasingly closed-minded Dick Cheney, that his administration is uncapable of admitting mistakes, and doesn't think they need to be held accountable for everything. You can see this in that they don't even have anything positive to campaign on anymore...their whole message is that if Kerry gets elected, its a vote for our enemies... I mean, ****, what kind of a message is that for a man who is asking us to let him lead our country? And could you believe what Bush said to Brokaw last night, that criticism of our Iraq policy is just "Monday Morning Quarterbacking", and not legitimate? Mr. President, if we can't talk about your war planning during the war because it is unpatriotic, and we can't talk about it after the war when its time to vote because it is second-guessing, when the hell do the American people actually get to have a say on the matter? Or is that illegitimate for me to say?
This country was united after 9/11. The unity even lasted up until well after the Afghan war. It even lasted up until the planning for the war in Iraq, which I was fine with initially. But the way they railroaded that through in such a rush, without getting a consensus in the country agreeing with it, has caused so many of the problems we are now having. They took the country to war without a national consensus...they call that a profile in courage, real leadership. I just call it bad judgement. I mean, the problem it has caused is that the world sees a divided home front while our country is at war, and they see it as a sign of weakness. Iran and North Korea have seen this and been taking advantage of this in the past year. Meanwhile, since the country is so divided on the war, Bush has had to craft Iraq policy over the last 16 months with an eye to the election. That has hurt our occupation planning and policy immensely.
I want to win the war in Iraq right now. We NEED to win in Iraq. We're losing at the moment. Even Colin Powell has recently indicated this. The trend lines are not good. Bush has not demonstrated that he has what it takes to confront the hard truths that need to be confronted before we can turn this around. I don't know if Kerry is the man. But if things continue as is, we are going to lose in Iraq, and that is unacceptable to me. We need a fresh start. Electing Kerry at least gives the partisan Democrats something to have invested in the outcome as well. That will go a long way towards uniting the country. They need to start taking the war on Islamic Fundamentalism seriously as well. But one thing is clear...we need a more united country and a fresh start. We need better leadership. We should expect more, we can do better, and its time for accountability.
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An undecided voter just made up his mind
