What more will it take?

Last September 1, long after the disastrous impact of Hurricane Katrina was widely known, President Bush told Diane Sawyer, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." Yesterday, however, it was revealed that not only had Bush been warned otherwise and was therefore lying, but also that, despite others' grave warnings, the president said his administration was "fully prepared."

So, if there's a Republican reading this, I'd like to know: What more will it take? What would this president, this man you've supported through thick and thin, have to do for you to come to the conclusion that he's not the right man for the job?

If he assaulted a defenseless child on national television, would you blame the victim? If he used a racist epithet during a press conference, would you argue the recipient didn't know her place? If he came clean and said, "Yessir, I lied about Iraq, Katrina and everything else," would you criticize the liberal media for distorting his words? Or would you, as you have in the past, stand by your man?

How can you defend the war in Iraq? We now know that not only had the administration molded the intelligence around its policy, but also that Bush planned to go to war with our without the United Nations' approval. In other words, Bush lied on purpose and with a purpose to involve us in the war, a war built on faulty evidence and a hidden agenda from the start.

By fighting a war of choice in Iraq, Bush clearly took his eyes off of the original prize that every American wanted killed or captured: Osama bin Laden. Once fighting began, it has been proven that gross violations of human rights occurred both at Abu Ghraib and at Guantanamo Bay. American forces also used chemical weapons on Iraqis, weapons that melt victims' flesh to the bone. All the while, more than 2,200 American men and women have given their lives, and for what? For a situation that will soon deteriorate into an all-out civil war. Mission accomplished.

How can you defend Bush's response to Katrina? Smoking gun after smoking gun after smoking gun prove without a shadow of a doubt that this administration's handling of the disaster was nothing less than criminally negligent. Despite the fact that we now know the president was warned - using "dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms" - that an unprecedented tragedy could occur, Bush still took the time to sell his Medicare plan and play the guitar on a western swing. All the while, impassioned cries for help were ignored.

As time has passed and the story has faded, those most affected by the disaster have largely been abandoned by their government. Relief promised the victims hasn't come. Thousands are still missing. Thousands more were recently kicked out of their hotels. Meanwhile, the president's lofty rhetoric has gone unfulfilled and the man who spent more time using firemen as props than as life savers has yet to be held accountable. Heck of a job, Bushie.

How can you defend warrantless wiretapping? Or the port transfer? Or the outing of Valerie Plame? At every turn, this president has not only acted illegally, but he's also lied about it to his employers, the American people. His falling approval ratings are no fluke. The majority of Americans no longer trust Bush. Nor do they think he shares their concerns or even cares about people like them. They don't think Iraq is going well. They don't think the war on terror is going well.

Look at what's on the horizon. Top White House officials are under or may soon face indictment. The president's major initiatives are either dead or are on life support. The man already in a bubble is retreating more and more each day into an echo chamber filled with other sycophants. And there are no signs of it getting better.

What more will it take for you to see what we see? What more will it take for you to stop calling us un-American? What more will it take for you to stop treating the truth with such disdain? Support for the president is falling through the floor. Americans of all stripes are growing tired of the lies, tired of the hard times. Members of his own party are running from his record. As evidence mounts, it's hard to see Bush as anything but an amateur, a man incapable of governing.

But yet you still support him. Why?

Comments

[JAB]

All very valid questions there. But, I'll be surprised if you get a single answer. Diehard Bush supporters are seemingly genetically incapable of admitting they are wrong. Just like diehard christians. They'll go to their graves (possibly taking all of us with them) defending their failed/non-existant leaders.

[Josh Chernila]

This blog is the most fun I've had since I quit hitting myself in the forehead with a hammer. Slightly less informative, but much more fun.

;)

[Josh Chernila]

btw... that was a poor attempt at humor. Just trying to make your right-column quote scroll.

;)