There is an article in the BYU Political Review which points out many of the main problems facing the Bush administration. This is my response:
While the Bush administration promised $7.1 billion to battle the avian bird flu and has only delivered $3.3 billion to date, we shouldn’t be focusing on that. Last year, 41 people died from the avian influenza while over 3 million people died from AIDS. I think we should focus our anti-Bush sentiment on educating people in proper hygiene to decrease the number of people infected with HIV. Oh wait, AIDS was around before President Bush and we should have made a bigger deal when President Clinton was in office too. I guess since the bird flu is a relatively new issue that only President Bush has had to deal with, we find no problem with using it as an angle of attack because there is not a history of Democrats ‘botching the job’ as well.
The well-known Katrina fiasco is another great example. Not only did President Bush appoint people to lead FEMA who were not necessarily qualified, but the local governments, state governments, other federal agencies, and plenty of NGOs are just as much art fault as the people President Bush personally appointed to lead FEMA. If you notice, FEMA has been under attack since 1997 (four years before Bush became President). I do not see President Bush at fault for the Hurricane Katrina disaster. However, because Bush created the Department of Homeland Security and placed FEMA within it against the wishes and recommendations of Director Brown, he does carry a portion of the blame.
Our leaders are too busy covering up their mistakes, just as they always have been. During the Monica Lewinsky fiasco, the White House was focusing far too much attention on the President’s personal mistakes rather than on international and domestic affairs. It seems that whether a Republican or a Democrat sits in the White House, there will always be mistakes and fiascos.
I am not an avid conservative and Republican. I do not fall into any of the main American political parties. One thing that bugs me is when people who are distinctly Republican or Democrat bashes the opposing party irresponsibly. Yes, there are issues and problems with the current administration, but no matter what party controls the government, it will always be that way.
I agree with your conclusion that we should fight for the freedom and liberty of Americans and all human beings. I agree that the average American should stay on top of the news. I agree we should do what we can to make a difference in this nations politics. However, I do NOT agree that all the problems our country is dealing with are due to the ‘foul-smelling grunge blanketing much of our Capitol,’ which just happens to be led by Republicans at the moment.
I don’t like opinions from people who are hardcore Republican or Democrat. I think everyone should be somewhere in between and more parties should exist that stand on the moderate side of the spectrum. There is so much going on in politics that affects so many people, we can find evidence of both parties doing things that are really bad and other things that are really good. Each side talks up their good points and the other side’s bad points. We should not be so divided, especially based upon party lines few people fall in to. We need more solidarity in the American population.
