Since George W. Bush became president six years ago, liberals have never been short on jokes at his expense. As one of these liberals, I have enjoyed the chuckles even while a little voice in the back of my head says, “But seriously, this guy is our president?!?”
I know, it’s the same incredulous liberal attitude that attempts to undermine the president’s power, an attitude that this nation has seen plenty of during his term.
Even while I try to discern myself from the mob mentality of the American left that seems to bate and ridicule republicans simply because they sit on the other side of the political fence, I still scratch my head at some of Bush’s antics. To be blunt, I think he’s too simple a man to be the “leader of the free world.”
But he is that leader. I accept that. Unlike many other liberals who count down the days until Bush leaves office-almost two years to the day, if this applies to you-I recognize that he still has time to make things better, or-gulp-worse.
At the end of the day, I can’t help but root for the guy. After all, his fate and that of the U.S. is dangerously intertwined, to the point that one must want him to succeed in his position so that we may have a better America.
So like many other concerned citizens, I watched Bush’s speech on Jan. 10 with great interest. I was actually relieved to find a George W. Bush that was quite different from the guy I was accustomed to: he was honest, and for once, he left out the B.S.
Though he came just short of apologizing for starting the war in Iraq which has now become a disaster, he did take full responsibility as commander-in-chief. This was music to my liberal ears.
Furthermore, in terms of bridging the ever-increasing gap between the left and right, he needed to take responsibility if liberals were ever going to respect conservatives again.
Bush also outlined a new plan in Iraq to completely secure Baghdad with more than 20,000 new troops before eventually withdrawing them in the next year or so. While many fellow democrats-and even some conservatives-showed their outrage at the new plan in the days since the speech, I have actually found myself agreeing with President Bush. Scary, I know.
Though the war was probably a mistake, the most imminent task at hand is that we finish what we started in Iraq. Leaving now, as experts on both sides of the political coin have attested, would not only severely undercut our efforts to spread democracy there, but it would send Iraq into a civil war, which would likely lead to ethnic cleansing and an even more unstable Middle East for many years to come. No matter how badly we want out of Iraq, we must stay until the nation is at least reasonably secure. Bush, to his credit, understands that.
It’s time to think about the future of Iraq, and not just the future of the U.S. or our interests there. We have the power to make the situation in Iraq better than it is, and it’s our responsibility to do so. It became our responsibility the moment we set foot there as the aggressor. Yes, Bush got us into this mess. Yes, he has failed to rebuild it and secure it. But just because Bush has failed so often and intensely before doesn’t mean his ideas are altogether wrong.
For those who want Bush to pay for his mistakes, new polls show that his approval rating has now dropped below 30 percent. In the court of public opinion, he is now receiving the unfavorable rulings that he likely deserves. History will decide the rest. But we, as ethical world citizens, have the chance here and now to support an idea that will save lives where otherwise they would be lost.
Yes, Bush sucks and has been wrong at nearly every turn of his tenure. But this one idea is right, and if this nation be a democracy, then we can surely support the same ideas he supports while disapproving of him.
