See also Index to Robert McElvaine guest posts for other full McElvaine articles at Old Hickory's Weblog.
George W. Bush sent Americans to die and be maimed in an unnecessary war that has lost us support around the world and multiplied the number of terrorists who seek to do us harm. It is hard to imagine anything worse that a president could do and that, in itself, is clearly much more than sufficient reason that he must be voted out of office.
But there are so many other reasons why he must be defeated. A few of those reasons are enumerated below.
Summation: The Case Against Bush
By Robert S. McElvaine
In his book Where the Right Went Wrong, arch-conservative Patrick Buchanan provides all the reason anyone should need to vote Bush out of office: Bush, Buchanan points out, "invaded a country that did not threaten us, had not attacked us and did not want war with us, to disarm it of weapons we have since discovered it did not have."
"In war," General Douglas MacArthur famously proclaimed, "there is no substitute for victory."
There is also no excuse for a leader who misleads his nation into an unnecessary war.
There is nothing a president can do that is worse than sending our troops to die in a needless war. On that basis alone, George W. Bush must be voted out of office.
But that is just the worst thing he has done.
The Bush Record in Brief
During his three-plus years as president, George W. Bush has:
* Taken, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the greatest worldwide outpouring of goodwill the United States has enjoyed at least since World War II and squandered it by insisting on pursuing a foolish go-it-almost-alone invasion of Iraq, thereby transforming almost universal support for the United States into worldwide condemnation.
* Misled (to use the most charitable word and interpretation) the American public about weapons of mass destruction and supposed ties to al Qaeda in Iraq and so into a war that has plainly (and entirely predictably) made us less secure, caused a boom in the recruitment of terrorists, is killing American military personnel needlessly, and is threatening to suck up all our available military forces and be a bottomless pit for the money of American taxpayers
for years to come.
* Failed to follow through in Afghanistan, where the Taliban and al Qaeda are regrouping, once more increasing the threat to our people.
* Wrapped himself in the flag to disguise the fact that he is, without his resort to the last refuge of scoundrels, an emperor completely without the clothing of any positive achievement in his presidency.
* Insulted and ridiculed other nations and international organizations and then found it necessary to go, hat in hand, to those nations and organizations begging for their assistance.
* Completely miscalculated or failed to plan for the personnel and monetary needs in Iraq after the war.
* Failed to order the securing of ammunition storage dumps in Iraq at the time of the American invasion, thus creating the very thing he claimed to be fighting against: massive amounts of explosives falling into the hands of potential terrorists.
* Presided over the loss of more than 1.5 million private sector American jobs, the worst record since Herbert Hoover.
* Inherited an annual federal budget surplus of $230 billion and transformed it into a $400+ billion deficit in less than three years. This negative turnaround of two-thirds of a trillion dollars is totally without precedent in our history. The ballooning deficit is rapidly approaching twice the dollar size of the previous record deficit, $290 billion, set in 1992, the last year of the administration of President Bush’s father and, at almost 5percent of GDP, is closing in on the percentage record set by Ronald Reagan in 1986.
* Cut taxes four times, sharply reducing the burden on the rich, reclassified money obtained through stock ownership as more deserving than money earned through work. The idea that dividend income should not be taxed – what might accurately be termed the unearned income tax credit – can be stated succinctly: "If you had to work for your money, we’ll tax it; if you didn’t have to work for it, you can keep it all."
* Curtailed the very American freedoms that our military people are supposed to be fighting to defend.
* Called upon American armed service people, including Reserve forces, to sacrifice for ever-lengthening tours of duty in a hostile and dangerous environment while he rewards the rich at home with lower taxes and legislative giveaways and gives lucrative no-bid contracts to American corporations linked with the administration.
* Given an opportunity to begin to change the consumption-oriented values of the nation after September 11, 2001, when people were prepared to make a sacrifice for the common good, called instead of Americans to "sacrifice" by going out and buying things.
* Proclaimed himself to be a conservative while maintaining that big government should be able to run roughshod over the Bill of Rights, and that the government must have all sorts of secrets from the people, but the people can be allowed no privacy from the government.
The list could go on and on. Indeed, it is difficult to think of anything positive that this failed presidency has accomplished.
Currently many people around the world make a distinction between Bush, a man they see as an arrogant fool, and the United States. Should the American people reelect this man, the distinction between him and the American people – us – will blur. Such an outcome would be disastrous for our nation.
For the future of America, this man must be defeated.
{ Robert S. McElvaine teaches history at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, is the author of Eve’s Seed: Biology, the Sexes, and the Course of History, and is currently completing his first novel and screenplay, What It Feels Like . . . . }
AUTHOR'S PHOTO AVAILABLE AT: http://home.millsaps.edu/~mcelvrs/McElvaine-headshot.jpg
Contact information:
Robert S. McElvaine
Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters
Chair, Department of History
Millsaps College
Jackson, MS 39210
e-mail: mcelvrs@hotmail.com
Web: http://home.millsaps.edu/~mcelvrs
http://evesseed.net
No comments:
Post a Comment