Reply #34: THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL IN IRAQ AND THE BIG PICTURE OF BUSH'S RECORD [View All]

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ELECTION IS HERE: TIME TO BOTTOM LINE IT

This election is a referendum on Bush. If heÕs bad, then itÕs time to give the new guy Kerry a chance. If not, then let Bush have four more years.

KEY AREAS OF BUSH RECORD ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10

BUSH RECORD ON TERRORISM Ð 2 OUT OF 10

* BIN LADEN ON THE LOOSE. Why the heck has public enemy number one still not been caught after over three years since 9/11/2001??? The reason is Bush took his eye off the ball and invaded Iraq before finishing the job of catching bin Laden. To the point, by March 13, 2002 Bush said, according to an official White House transcript "I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.Ó Now the President says he wants bin Laden dead or alive. This is a huge FLIP FLOP on one of the most important issues facing our country.

* TERRORISM ON THE RISE. Never before have so many US and foreign troops and citizens died from terrorist attacks in Iraq and elsewhere. And the numbers are increasing. Bush hasnÕt focused our military resources in the relentless push that is needed to completely dismantle al Qaeda. Neither has Bush adequately funded the Homeland Security Office, which lets 95% of shipping containers come into the US uninspected. As a consequence, now the President admits itÕs not a matter of if the next terrorist attack will occur against the US, but when. BOTTOM LINE: BAD JOB FOR BUSH.

BUSH RECORD ON IRAQ Ð 1 OUT OF 10

* IRAQ WAS A MISTAKE. The reason Bush rushed us into war Ð that Iraq supposedly has weapons of mass destruction Ð was all wrong. Major major major mistake. For that kind of mistake, the buck has got to stop with the President.

* IRAQ IS A MESS THAT IS NOT BEING CLEANED UP. Iraqis canÕt travel safely in their own streets. Iraqis avoid being near foreigners because of the risk of attack. Whole sections of Iraq are lawless war zones. Terrorism is increasing each month. Infrastructure is still in shambles. Why is the Iraq situation declining from bad to worse? The reason is we never had a decent plan to secure the peace in that country. Another bad mistake.

* WE TORTURED INNOCENT IRAQIS. We disgraced ourselves. Bush says we are bringing Democracy to Iraq. Then we round up innocent people without adequate proof of wrongdoing, nearly all of whom have since been released, and subject them to bizarre torture aimed at violating their deepest religious mores. Sadly, this is not surprising since Bush has said we are not following the Geneva Convention, which protects our troops and citizens from outrageous conduct such as beheadings. Instead, in doublespeak, BushÕs administration said we are following Òthe principles ofÓ the Geneva Convention. Even more shocking, no senior administration official such as Rumsfeld has been shown the door.

* DID WE INVADE THE RIGHT COUNTRY? At the same time we were invading Iraq, North Korea already had nuclear weapons and was building more. Iran was busily obtaining nuclear weapons. LotÕs of people are asking if we invaded the right country. Was Iraq really that urgent? Should we have gone into Iran or North Korea? Or nowhere! BOTTOM LINE: BAD CHOICES, BAD JOB FOR BUSH.

BUSH RECORD ON THE ECONOMY: 3 OUT OF 10

* THE TAX CUT FAILED. Nice tax cut for the rich but it didnÕt much help the rest of middle America, who lost a lot of jobs and faced skyrocketing costs of living in health care, education and fuel costs. For the first time since Herbert HooverÕs administration, we lost more jobs than we created. Net net by all accounts more than a million jobs are gone over the past four years. Even over the past several months during the so-called ÒrecoveryÓ, job growth canÕt keep up with population growth. Government deficits are out of control and we will be paying for them for years to come.

* TOO MANY AMERICANS ARE STRUGGLING. How are Americans getting by with skyrocketing health care, education and fuel costs? Not with much help from the government. Tax cuts of only a few hundred dollars a year for middle income Americans canÕt make up for the squeeze from these costs. ThereÕs no direct help in the fuel area and limited help in the education area. The federal drug program is limited to seniors and is very hard to understand. This is really a drop in the bucket compared to BushÕs failure to make good on his promise to let everyone buy drugs from Canada. The PresidentÕs broken promise demonstrates that he holds the interests of big drug companies above those of the public. Prescription drugs sold in Canada are largely the same pills sold here. Whole communities have been forced to break the law by sponsoring bus trips to Canada to avoid their elderly and sick from becoming impoverished from the astronomical cost of drugs in the US.

BUSH ON SOCIAL ISSUES: 5 OUT OF 10

* THE PRESIDENT HAS HELD THE LINE BUT IS DIVISIVE. Social issues are what is keeping the President afloat. The country is divided down the middle on social issues. There are reasonable arguments as well as misinformation on both sides of the aisle. ItÕs a shame Bush couldnÕt build more unity, but you canÕt blame him entirely for people being put off by his folksy swagger persona.

* OUT OF TOUCH ON STEM CELL RESEARCH. In a recent Annenberg poll in August, 64% favored and 28% disfavored use of embryos to conduct stem cell research. In the abortion debate, itÕs a real live fetus lost on the one hand versus no health benefit for the mother. The stem cell debate balances a tiny embryo against health gains for millions of sick people. Bush says he is permitting stem cell research, but according to stem cell researchers, he really isnÕt. There are only a few old and sick cell lines that can be used. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of embryos are frozen only to be ultimately discarded because itÕs against the law to use them for stem cell research. If Bush gets elected, cures from stem cell research for millions of sick people are at least four more years away, and the US could lose the edge in this promising and potentially profitable field of research.

BOTTOM LINE: BushÕs record (average of 3.7 out of 10) is weak. Time to give the new guy a chance. Kerry proved himself capable and BushÕs match during the debates. Many of the people hollering about Kerry should remember all the similar hollering about Clinton, who turned out to do a pretty good job for America. No big wars on ClintonÕs watch. A great economy. At least four terrorist attacks averted by the Clinton administration through hard work leading up to the turn of the millennium, whereas the Bush administration ignored similar signs leading up to 9/11. Maybe thatÕs why bin Laden was so surprised that 9/11 exceeded all his expectations in running flawlessly.