We are Impatient

Here's my recent letter to the Plain Dealer, which I doubt they will print:

To the Editor:

Apparently, Bush supporters in the Southland of Ohio have been referring to the Kerry supporters as the Impatient People.

We are impatient, but not for the reasons they believe.

We have grown impatient because in the summer of 2001, George W. Bush ignored repeated warnings of an impending Al-Queda attack, refused to inform the American people, and left the country defenseless. We are impatient because in the face of those attacks, the American people were offered no leadership beyond "go about your business." We are also impatient because that same administration now insists on crying terrorist "wolf" whenever it suits their political needs. We are impatient--and angry--that Bush didn't have the patience, or wisdom, to let the weapons inspectors finish their job or to build a real international coalition before preemptively striking Iraq, a policy which has left America alone in the world and left our soldiers in harm's way. We are impatient because Bush's war in Iraq took focus away from our real enemy, Osama bin Laden, who remains at large. We are impatient because Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy come in the face of skyrocketing government spending, and that the costs will be passed onto our grandchildren. We are impatient because this administration insists on clinging to a failed economic theory, despite all the evidence that Trickle Down Economics doesn't work. In this election year, we are doubly impatient with Bush's smear campaign against John Kerry, with the lies, and with the Administration's gallingly high sleaze factor.

In short, we are impatient with the arrogance of this Administration, the sheer tonnage of which would stun a team of oxen in its tracks. This Administration has the worst record of job creation since Herbert Hoover held office. The stock market remains lackluster, and the economic recovery has not taken hold. Worst of all, under George W. Bush, more American soldiers have died in combat than under any President since Richard Nixon.

So, are we impatient? You bet we are. The relevant question is, why aren't you?

Playing politics with American soldiers...

The erroneous notion that Clinton did nothing to combat terrorism needs to be refuted.

In fact, Clinton's people stopped so many terror attacks just listing them would take most of my day--but let's not forget the Millenium attack, where Al-Queda planned to take out Los Angeles International Airport. Of course, that airport is frequented by Hollywood Liberals, so it probably wasn't worth saving.

Sure Iraq HAD weapons of mass destruction. Most of them had been destroyed during the first Gulf War and it's aftermath. Those that remained were in disrepair, or otherwise useless. Some conservative whackos have been sending out an email about Iraqi jets found buried in the desert--pretty pathetic, since most of them had their innards jammed with sand and were unuseable.

The FACT is that during the second Iraq war, Saddam Hussein was unable to launch ONE PLANE, or ONE SCUD MISSLE. The other FACT is that nearly all the resistance U.S. troops are now encountering are not Bathists loyal to Saddam, but Shiites and Islamic fundamentalists that Saddam kept under his thumb--indeed, many of these terrorists entered through Iraq's porous borders AFTER Bush's ill-advised aircraft carrier photo-op.

A little refresher for those who forget:

Bush tried to justify the war by sending Colin Powell to the UN with a bunch of bogus photos, claiming they were proof of WMD when they could have been anything. Then, when no WMD were found, Bush tried to play the Iraq/Al-Queda link card. Again, only the ignorant bought it--and they don't vote. Finally, Bush said it was a war of liberation.

So that's the policy: We sacrificed 900+ American soldiers (so far) so some Iraqi can visit Disneyland.

Lessons from 1948

The 1948 Truman campaign was the last time a President with low approval ratings was able to get back on track and win the election. But, there are critical differences between 1948 and 2004. Part of the reason Truman was unpopular was that his legislative program was stymied by the Republican controlled 80th Congress (both houses went Republican in 1946). In the 1948 Republican platform, they called for a laundry list of popular legislation which they knew would be popular with moderates and burned-out Democrats--of couse, they had no intention of actually enacting this legislation.

So, at the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Truman called their bluff and announced he was calling the "good for nothing 80th Congress" back into session on July 25. He did. The legislation didn't go anywhere, and Truman ran for reelection by running against the Congress. It didn't hurt Truman that the economy was also doing pretty well.

Bush, with a Republican controlled House and Senate, doesn't have that luxury. So, he essentially doesn't have anything to run against, and no excuses for his utter lack of accomplishments.

The economy is mired in a jobless "recovery" that threatens to turn into another recession. Skyrocketing oil prices threaten a return to inflation. The Dow is under 10,000 again. Bush has been in office three years. He's no longer in a position to blame Clinton for the economy, especially after the record boom while Clinton was in office. Like it or not, Clintonomics worked, Dubyanomics doesn't.

It's still the economy.
We're mired in an unpopular war.
Don't forget healthcare.

Bush the Flip-Flopper

BUSH:
Flip-flopped on spending Social Security surplus
Flip-flopped on patient's right to sue
Flip-flopped on tobacco buy-out
Flip-flopped on North Korea
Flip-flopped on abortion
Flip-flopped on OPEC
Flip-flopped on Iraq Funding
Flip-flopped on Condeleeza Rice testimony
Flip-flopped on regulations based on science
Flip-flopped on Ahmed Chalabi
Flip-flopped on the Department of Homeland Security
Flip-flopped on WMD's
Flip-flopped on Free Trade
Flip-flopped on mandatory caps on carbon dioxide
Flip-flopped on WMD commission
Flip-flopped on creation of 9-11 commission
Flip-flopped on the time extension of 9-11 commision
Flip-flopped on the hour limit for 9-11 commision testimony
Flip-flopped on gay marriage
Flip-flopped on UN Resolution
Flip-flopped on involvement in Palestinian Conflict
Flip-flopped on Campaign Finance

and my favorite: Flip-flopped on Osama Bin Laden.

"I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, I recall, that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'" [President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden, 09/17/01 http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/dailynews/wtc_main010917.html

"I don't know where he is.You know, I just don't spend that much time on him... I truly am not that concerned about him."[President Bush, Press Conference, 3/13/02 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html

All are cited here. http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=42263