Monday, October 10, 2005

Some thoughts about President Bush

The learned heads of the TV business are chortling about President Bush's drop in the polls. They point out that he is losing his conservative right support as well as the support of the general public. Well, I have a few comments about this situation. The first is the observation that since 9/11 we have not had a terrorist attack in the continental U.S.. The second is that the job of being a leader is different from winning popularity contests. A leader has to take a position and lead from there, not take a poll and lead in the direction that the prevailing wind blows. Winston Churchill had no easy task leading the British people prior to and during WWII. His opposition was significant and vocal until the bombs rained down. Do we have to receive another attack to ring the bells of Bush's opponents? If the American public has anything it's short memories. We are truly in a war, but this war is different than any other in our history. It involves religious fanatics and fundamentalist zealots using fear and murder to further their objectives. And since this is a religion based action which is driven in large part by "faith" in what they believe, they are not open to compromise.
Which brings me to the issue of Bush's far right supporters. What is the difference between their profoundly held beliefs and the ones carried by the terrorists? Some of the far right have been know to resort to murder and bombing much as some of the Moslems. It would appear to me that if there is a God and we are all brought to trial on the basis of our lives that the issue of abortions are taken care of at that point. So why impose a religious standard that is not accepted by everyone? If standards are so practical why is it that we need judges to decipher their meanings? And preachers to rail about the words of "their" god, as though ownership is possible.
The path through this maze is the moderate path, positions on the far right and left are not tenable except , once again, by fanatics.

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