President: Same Guy Different Numbers
What’s different about the President? His view on Iraq hasn’t changed since the invasion. He still pushes for 6 party talks in dealing with North Korea. He still supports cuts in taxes and cuts in services. The President has yet to waver on his support for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, No Child Left Behind, or the Patriot Act. The President has less swagger and bravado than he once projected but he still wears cowboy hats in Texas. So why has his approval rating dropped from 60 percent to 30 in less than 2 years time? One explanation is that the world has changed between now and then. The fact is that the world is always changing. Situations change and new solutions need to be considered.
When the decision was made to invade Iraq certain preconceived ideas of the outcome were held by the administration. We would be greeted as liberators. We would find WMDs proving a direct threat to the U.S. The cost of the war would be paid for with Iraqi oil and national identity would keep the country from tearing itself apart. None of these things turned out to be correct. Instead of adjusting policy according to the new situation the President seems to be waiting for the outcome he was expecting. If only we give the war a little more time we will greeted as liberators, find WMDs, the war will be paid for and national unity will flourish behind the new government. The President could never be accused of “flip-flopping”, the label that proved so devastating to the Kerry campaign in 2004. The shoes most like the Administration policy could only be described as concrete. So afraid of changing course we are sinking deeper into problems that can’t be solved going the current direction. An unwillingness to maneuver in a time of crisis is a kind of paralysis. Once we saw the President as an innovative leader but now the image of deer caught in the headlights seems a more apt description.
The public has had time to see the fruit of policies we were assured would bring security and prosperity. None of the Presidents major initiatives have produced the results they have promised. Some of these policies need only small adjustments for them to work in the real world. Adjustments we’ve seen the administration unwilling, or unable to make. This intractable resolve has haunted the Administration with underachievement and a lack of progress. If this government was held to the standards schools are held by the No Child Left Behind Act the grade would be that of failure.
Further alienating the public the President has catered to the small yet vocal religious activists on his right. These groups with special interests seem to justify applying their moral judgments onto public policy at large. This has left the President not only taking views that differ from the majority of Americans but actually come into conflict with his roll as defender of our Constitutional liberties. His excesses in attempting to appease this demanding demographic has left George W. less of a president and more of a lobbyist in the eyes of the nation.
The President and his party can regain much of the public confidence that they have lost. They only need to remind themselves of their core ideals. Less government, less spending, less interference by the government in the affairs of others, these have been the staples of Republican conservative ideals for many years. The truth is they have failed in practice what they are so successful in preaching. Only when they are ready to return with courage to the ideals of, liberty for all, will the public return to them.
When the decision was made to invade Iraq certain preconceived ideas of the outcome were held by the administration. We would be greeted as liberators. We would find WMDs proving a direct threat to the U.S. The cost of the war would be paid for with Iraqi oil and national identity would keep the country from tearing itself apart. None of these things turned out to be correct. Instead of adjusting policy according to the new situation the President seems to be waiting for the outcome he was expecting. If only we give the war a little more time we will greeted as liberators, find WMDs, the war will be paid for and national unity will flourish behind the new government. The President could never be accused of “flip-flopping”, the label that proved so devastating to the Kerry campaign in 2004. The shoes most like the Administration policy could only be described as concrete. So afraid of changing course we are sinking deeper into problems that can’t be solved going the current direction. An unwillingness to maneuver in a time of crisis is a kind of paralysis. Once we saw the President as an innovative leader but now the image of deer caught in the headlights seems a more apt description.
The public has had time to see the fruit of policies we were assured would bring security and prosperity. None of the Presidents major initiatives have produced the results they have promised. Some of these policies need only small adjustments for them to work in the real world. Adjustments we’ve seen the administration unwilling, or unable to make. This intractable resolve has haunted the Administration with underachievement and a lack of progress. If this government was held to the standards schools are held by the No Child Left Behind Act the grade would be that of failure.
Further alienating the public the President has catered to the small yet vocal religious activists on his right. These groups with special interests seem to justify applying their moral judgments onto public policy at large. This has left the President not only taking views that differ from the majority of Americans but actually come into conflict with his roll as defender of our Constitutional liberties. His excesses in attempting to appease this demanding demographic has left George W. less of a president and more of a lobbyist in the eyes of the nation.
The President and his party can regain much of the public confidence that they have lost. They only need to remind themselves of their core ideals. Less government, less spending, less interference by the government in the affairs of others, these have been the staples of Republican conservative ideals for many years. The truth is they have failed in practice what they are so successful in preaching. Only when they are ready to return with courage to the ideals of, liberty for all, will the public return to them.
posted by kamuizot at 7:31 PM
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