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. Full Story »
Posted by Walter Cox
If Jeffrey Shapiro is trying to be deliberately inflammatory and contrarian, he has succeeded beyond what I could have imagined. In that sense, this may be a very clever opinion. That doesn't, however, change the fact that this, on its face, is an unbelievably shortsighted and unlettered defense of George W. Bush and his policies. I take no issue with the author's personal expression of sympathy for Bush -- think and say whatever you want about the man. But to argue that Americans, myself included, are guilty of some brand of treason because we've "failed to stand by" the 43rd president is not only stupid and jingoistic, but indicates to me a dangerous misunderstanding of how our democracy works. If the American people owe their ... More »
If Mr. Shapiro is so outraged by our rejection of Bush, perhaps he'd consider relocating to North Korea, where a dead man is still president and the only "right" an individual has is to extol him and his brutally repressive son.
The author seems to miss a key aspect about the relationship between the American public and the U.S. President - That the President serves at the will of the people. His entire argument centers on this misinterpretation of American democracy, rendering his gripe moot.
The American people owe their elected representatives nothing. If opinion polls seem irrational and unfair, it's the President who needs to articulate himself better to the American people. Welcome to a democracy Mr. Shapiro. It can get messy when people decide.
As we look forward to the Obama presidency and wish for the end of a painful period in U.S. history, this editorial reminds us of a debt of gratitude that we still owe our current president--a man who, for all his faults, has given much to a job that is larger than any single man. In our excitement and hope, Mr. Shapiro reminds us of the virtue of loyalty. We owe loyalty to President Bush, and we will owe loyalty to President Obama--long after the excitement of his election has faded, and after his own particular inadequacies are laid bare by the office he will occupy come January, 2009.
After initially supporting President Clinton's election, I felt compelled to reverse course and support President Bush--twice. I do not regret those decisions. In this election, I concluded that Mr. Obama was by far the better choice. My disappointments with President Bush are many; nevertheless, I am grateful for his steadfastness and I believe history will treat him rather more kindly than have Americans circa 2008.
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