Politics: Bush

There are so many reasons that I have the utmost disdain for George W. Bush, it would be almost impossible to list them all. Here are my top 13 reasons I find the Bush administration appalling for their utter failure to serve the people who elected them and who represent them to the rest of the world:

1) Failing to capture Osama Bin Laden.
2) Misleading the US and the rest of the world about the unreliable information they had obtained which was supposed to show that Iraq was amassing WMD and that Saddam Hussein was tied to 9/11.
3) Being on vacation while Katrina was sitting as a category 5 hurricane in the middle of the Gulf and then not responding swiftly and appropriately once it reached and destroyed America's shores. (Didn't Jeb call him????)
4) Continuing huge tax breaks for large oil companies in times of record profits for them and massive deficits for the US. (I'm thinking W's not very good with math)
5) Refusing to end our occupation of Iraq while letting our honorable soldiers continue to be attacked - 4,150 Americans have been killed and more than 30,000 wounded in addition to countless Iraqi civilians.
6) Failing to provide proper medical and mental care for our veterans (remember Walter Reed Medical Center?).
7) Giving tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% during a time of war which is costing us $341 million per day (more evidence of W's lack of basic math skills).
8) Endorsing torture as a method to be employed by the military but then publically denying that torture is used at all (remember Abu Ghraib?). This is also a direct break with the Geneva Conventions which is just shameful.
9) Promising the Iraq war would lower gas prices.
10) Concealing the pre-9/11 Presidential Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."
11) Rejecting the Kyoto Treaty to stop climate change in addition to outright rejecting the notion that climate change was even occurring for the vast majority of his presidency.
12) Allowing Afghanistan to fall into chaos thereby allowing the Taliban and al Qaeda to regain control.
13) Telling the 45 million uninsured Americans "people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room." (7/10/07 in Cleveland) And, no, I did not pull that out of context. He really said it just like that as if that is really an acceptable means of obtaining health care.

These are just a few of the things Bush has done that really get me upset that, not only was he elected, he was RE-elected.

I remember during past election cycles, there was a lot of talk about how Americans thought W would be fun to have a beer with. I'm sure he would be! If you're into cocaine, I'm sure he was a blast on that too back in the day. And there are very good reasons people feel that way. W is a crack up, he's funny. He is not who should have ever been in charge of the greatest nation on earth! As evidence of his fun-loving, laid back nature, here are my favorites:

* Setting the record for most days on vacation by any president in U.S. history - this illustrates a very laid back nature.
* Turning a budget surplus into massive budget deficit - anyone that can spend that kind of money in 8 short years knows how to throw a party!
* Swiftboating John Kerry - this was a great example of making fun of someone. It was so outrageous though because, while Kerry actually served his country in VN, Bush was on vacation (again) in TX!
* Outing CIA agent Valerie Plame to retaliate for her husband, Joe Wilson, telling the truth about Iraq's WMDs. That's not really something fun but it is certainly something people can relate too - getting back at someone who really pissed you off.
* Trying to slash funding for PBS and NPR - those programs are just no fun always having educational, informative programs - SNORE!

Another thing that makes W someone you could have a beer with is his lack of intelligence. I've already pointed out his apparent lack of math skills - simple math skills. There is also a lack of leadership skills in his failure to hire the most qualified and instead choosing to fill appointed positions with his supportive, like-minded friends. Good leaders know that in order to make the best decisions they need a diverse team who will not only tell them what they want to hear but will present the facts even if they are unpleasant (um, sir, you really need to call off your vacation, it looks like a storm is going to destroy a few hundred thousand American's lives and it doesn't look like the NOLA government is handling it appropriately) or are not in agreement with you (no, actually, Saddam can't get his hands on anything dangerous anymore even if he still is one of the nastiest MFers on the planet, he can't harm any Americans or even his neighbors at this point).

What really blows my mind now is that the Republican nominee, John McCain, who agrees with Bush 90% of the time, is enjoying a remarkably CLOSE race with Obama. I just don't get it.