A Time for Change

Part 1: Bush Iraq War Lies

Part  2: Bush Iraq War Lies

Part 3: Bush Iraq War Lies

CNN reports on an interview that Bush recently gave concerning his opinion on the 2008 election and why Barack Obama was ultimately elected.  It appears to be full of deep political insight, such as the following:

“I think it was a repudiation of Republicans,” *** “And I’m sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy.”

Oh, yes, of course most people voted for Barack Obama because they preferred for him to be in their living room.  However, Mr. Bush ignores the fact that most polls showed that the majority of voters rejected Bush completely and thoroughly, a President with historically low opinion ratings.  Rejection may not be easy, but it is what it is.  Revising history in his own mind will not change the fact that voters repudiated him, his policies and his Presidency.

Bush also appeared to want to revise history as to the Iraq war.  His own advisers have gone on record stating that very shortly after 9/11, his administration started discussing an invasion of Iraq even though all of the evidence pointed to Afghanistan. 

Bush would not say whether or not he would still have pushed for war with Iraq if he had known there were no weapon of mass destruction in that country.

“A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein,” Bush said. “It wasn’t just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence.

This man is delusional.  It was his administration that pushed for the war in Iraq and his administration who told the world that you are with us or against us when they were trying to dupe everyone into following them into this war.  In fact, the United States went to war without the support of the majority of world leaders and there was a massive public outcry from our allies and their citizens against it.  Most of the world saw this as an opportunity for Bush to get his cronies access to Iraq’s oil.

“I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess,” he said, but [he] would not say whether he would have pressed forward with the decision to invade Iraq if he had known otherwise: “That is a do-over that I can’t do.”

The “intelligence” that he is discussing has largely proved to be fabricated by his own administration to provide some basis to go forward with the war and to get members of Congress and other world leaders on board. 

It seems quite clear that President Bush realizes that he is a failure and that he never accomplished anything of substance except a tax package that has been the largest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the rich in history.  Saying it ain’t so George won’t change nuthin’.

Bush is right about one thing though.  History will be a great judge of his failed presidency.  Finally, someone has made even Herbert hoover look good.

During the 2008 campaign, John McCain and his chief agent of divisiveness, Sarah Palin,  referred to Barack Obama as a left wing liberal who would take the country towards socialism.  Many have accepted this as a fact based upon the much touted exchange between Obama and “Joe the Plumber” where Obama tried to explain his tax plan to Joe and ended up saying that Joe would have to “spread the wealth.”  Afterward, Sarah Palin campaigned with the Plumber and in addition to claiming that Obama was palling around with terrorists, that his supporters were un-American, she also claimed that he was a “socialist.”  But is that true?

In a recent commentary written for CNN, Julian E. Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, says no, that is not true based upon the team that Obama has recruit to help him govern.  Professor Zelizer has stated that he has surrounded himself with centrists.

The most striking characteristic of the current lineup is how the personalities reflect the centrist vision of the Democratic Party promoted by Bill Clinton and his colleagues at the Democratic Leadership Council in the 1990s.

Obama has called on experts who aggressively promoted globalization and deregulation on economic matters, pushed for welfare reform, and accepted the necessity of military force and a strong defense. There are exceptions, but overall thus far, it appears Obama will be advised from the center.

During the campaign, McCain and Palin repeatedly tried to twist Obama’s voting record to make it appear as if he is a radical liberal and that combined with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, his Presidency would drastically impact this country in a manner that is inconsistent with the moderate views expressed by the majority of the country.  But, as Professor Zelizer notes:

A close look at Obama’s development since 2004 suggests centrism should have been expected. There is little evidence beyond his history as a community organizer to indicate Obama is left of center.

That’s part of the irony of the attacks made by Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin against Obama for his association with 1960s radicals and statements about progressive taxation.

 How ironic then that McCain and palin would obfuscate and misrepresent Obama’s views by claiming that they are radically left when the platform that they were pushing was radically right of what the majority in this country want.  Recent polls have shown for example that the majority of Americans oppose overruling Roe v. Wade and want women to be given a choice on abortion and they favor stem cell research. 

McCain and Palin did this country a disservice during the election by making many afraid of Barack Obama, but so far he has made wise choices, with the right experience and has demonstrated that he wants to make some real changes in Washington.  This is a real breath of fresh air given the last eight years that has been filled with cronyism, refusal to acknowledge that the majority does not have the same ideology as the extreme right and refusal to listen to anyone other than an inner circle all of whom share the same views. 

As early as his keynote speech at the Democratic national Convention in 2004, Obama gave an early indication of the central them of his political views:

When Obama was introduced to the national scene at the 2004 Democratic Convention, his keynote speech focused on the need to overcome political polarization and long-standing divisions. In the most famous part of the speech, Obama said, “there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America – there’s the United States of America.”

At defining moments such as the one that we face today, the right man at the right time that has been able to lead the country out of troubled times has recognized that division gets us nowhere.  I did not initially support him, but I do so now and am excited about the path that this country may take and that has not happened for a very long time.