[Rev.Vassago]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html

The treatment of Bush has been a disgrace
What must our enemies be thinking?
By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO


Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.


According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.


It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."


To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.


Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.
Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

This article was written by an intern from John Kerry's legal team.

I am truly saddened by the lengths people will go to divide this country, even if they do not realize they are doing so. The events leading up to the election this past Tuesday are a shining example. I certainly hope that this "us vs. them" mentality that has sprouted and grown exponentially with the internet age does not continue to fester and grow. History will show that divisions like this are what created our Civil War. Then it was slavery, now it is class.

And those who disgrace the office of the President as many have done in recent years are on the front lines of the warfare. Some even frequent this very message board.

Shame on you.

[RebelDarlin]

Unfortunately many people won't see themselves as part of the problem. It is sad how bitter it has become.

[BigDiesel]

:thumbsup::clap::thumbsup::clap:

[mommee]

today's society is looking for immediate solutions to our problems now. if it isn't fixed tomorrow, then people get angry. i think history will kindly on president bush. and time will tell if obama will live up to all the expectations that the people who elected him expect.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by mommee

today's society is looking for immediate solutions to our problems now. if it isn't fixed tomorrow, then people get angry.

Sadly, you are correct. Too many, on both sides of the political spectrum, are less concerned about what the government can do, and more concerned about what the government can do for them. When one doesn't feel that those being elected, or potentially being elected, are going to benefit them, then they lash out. It is disrespectful, and I am ashamed of many of the people who have engaged in it. People I had a lot of respect for lost much of it over the course of this last election. Many even here on this board. Many of the names I saw attached to comments claiming that the candidate on the opposite side of their viewpoint was going to turn this country into some sort of Communist or Socialist state truly shocked me. I would think that, even if they don't agree with the viewpoints of the person holding the office, that they would respect and appreciate that we have the office in the first place. As the author of the article subtitled......

What on earth must our enemies be thinking?

[dobry4u]

Kudos on your comments about the dishonoring and disrespecting of our Head of State. Well, done.. no, no.. VERY well done.


It is so unfortunate that the conscience and respect for the office isn't shown through the People. I am proud to be an American and wish that was a popular sentiment among us. It shouldn't have to take heinous acts of terrorism to remind us of who we are.

[Twilight Flyer]

You've made an excellent point, Rev, and I applaud it.

I'll be the first one to say that I hope I'm wrong about Obama. I hope the creepy-crawlies wandering all over my skin when I consider what he's campaigned on and what his plans for our country are, are simply phantom feelings. But, the more pragmatic part of me isn't at all hopeful. With a very left incoming president and a very left majority congress, the scales of balance are way out of wack and it's disturbing to think what that can mean for the future of this country.

Maybe he'll come in and surprise us all and re-unite the country. Or maybe he'll come in and widen the chasm. I'm not going to crucify him on "what if's", but time will certainly tell if my criticsms during the election have been well deserved.

[Rev.Vassago]

To be honest, I have come to the conclusion that the politicians are no longer solely responsible for the division of this country. The internet age has brought with it the dawn of a new form of politics. It is giving a much louder voice to people who would have never had a voice before, or whose voice would have been ignored. While having a voice is always, without exception, a good thing, the fact that you have the right to speak does not mean you necessarily SHOULD be heard. And the loudest of the voices are the ones trying to split this country in half. The Michael Moore's, the Rush Limbaugh's, the Moveon dot org's: they are the ones I feel are much more responsible for the split we now see, and the politicians, in their efforts to hold on to their power, simply mimic those loudest voices.

It is certainly the dawn of a new age. Whether it will be one that will continue to give a voice to all Americans (and not just the loudest) remains to be seen.

[Snowman7]

I don't follow alot of politics but you are right about the internet dividing people. It happens here and other forums I follow like sports. People will say the meanest things behind the annonymity of a keyboard that they would never say face to face.

[Twilight Flyer]

Again, very well put, Rev. :thumbsup:

The internet definitely allows for information sharing on an incredible basis and someone that is savy with the internet, can keep up on the happenings of the world before most people can get it on the news. Internet users are definitely better informed, but their positions tend toward the extreme of either side simply due to how much they are immersed in opinion. People should be able to sift through the good and the bad, but most people latch on the bad and let it fuel their ire for whatever candidate or situation they are against.