George W. Bush has proven himself to be uniquely unsuited for the Presidency of the United States.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden struck this country and, in a tragic non sequitur, we invaded Iraq 18 months later, where 135,000 of our troops are pinned down.
The Bush Administration has provided huge tax breaks for the wealthy while running record deficits. Some 45 million Americans live without health care, a disgraceful state of affairs candidate Bush promised to do something about. We have lost 2.7 million manufacturing jobs overseas.
The Administration's environmental policies reflect the priorities of big business and big oil.
The Administration that trumpets itself as best equipped to make us secure has inflamed hatred for this country abroad and lags in hardening likely terrorist targets at home.
But it is Iraq that most vividly exposes President Bush's intellectual sloth and the ideologically-driven agenda of the neo-cons surrounding him.
The President says that we must look at the world differently after Sept. 11.
True, but that does not mean Sept. 11 granted his Administration license to ignore critical thinking, historical complexity or telling the truth to the American people.
A strong leader exercises a healthy skepticism when being told what he or she wants to hear. This is not a black-and-white world, no matter how much George Bush wishes it to be. And this is not a world in which the President of the United States, with incomparable vulgarity of soul, should ever, when we have placed our troops in harm's way, utter the challenge to insurgents: "Bring 'em on."
It is not enough for George Bush to profess love of America and its values.
American values include respect for all of the people. Simple human decency inheres in a democratic process in which the people are fully informed participants. Ironically, we have abused that democratic covenant here at home.
The war was a rushed sales job for which more than 1,000 U.S. service personnel have lost their lives and perhaps 15,000 Iraqis have been killed. We were not told the truth.
We can't walk away from the mess now. But we do need a fresh start.
We need a fresh start with our allies, arrogantly pushed away in the run-up to war. We need a fresh start with the Muslim world. The war on terror is global and requires a cooperative effort.
John Kerry has the intellectual equipment to grasp this. His campaign has appealed to what is best in America and Americans.
Meanwhile, the Bush Administration, trading on fear, is locked within its own fantasies.
As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "We steer our ship with hope, leaving Fear astern."
It's time for a fresh start.
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