Success has many parents, but failure is an orphan goes the proverb. Judging from his string of failures, President Bush must be the loneliest foundling in America. The problem is that his mistakes impact all Americans. Now, the time has come to take corrective action.
The Administration blunders go on and on. The past couple of weeks saw Dick Cheney shoot a Republican donor; the disclosure that the Bush Administration approved the transfer of management of six U.S. ports to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates; and the revelation that Bush was briefed about the consequences of Hurricane Katrina before it hit and yet did nothing, except go on a fundraising junket. And that string of screw-ups doesn't include Iraq.
The February 26th CBS News poll that found that only 34 percent of respondents approved of the job George Bush is doing, his lowest rating yet. Only 30 percent approved of his handling of Iraq. February 28th saw the Zogby survey of our troops in Iraq. Asked how much longer the occupation should go on, "29% of the respondents... said the U.S. should leave Iraq 'immediately,' while another 22% said they should leave in the next six months. Another 21% said troops should be out between six and 12 months, while 23% said they should stay 'as long as they are needed.'" In other words, 72 per cent said we should leave within a year.
And, both these polls were conducted before the bombing of the al-Askari shrine, which set off new fighting between Shiite and Sunni Iraqis. Violence that appears to indicate the beleaguered nation has fallen into all out civil war. A development that would accentuate the poll results; turn Americans even more against the occupation and the Bush presidency. As America approaches the third anniversary of the invasion -- March 19th -- it's clear that a solid majority of both civilians and the military want our troops to come home.
You'll remember that when George W. Bush was running for President he promised that if elected he would introduce "a responsibility era." He was emphatic about this, "Our nation's leaders are responsible ... to confront problems, not pass them on to others." Now we know that he didn't mean it. He has no intention of confronting problems, taking responsibility for his actions.
Five years of this President should have convinced Americans that Dubya isn't ever going to admit a mistake. He told us that we were going to stay in Iraq until we win and, by gum, he intends that do that. On February 28th, Dick Cheney reiterated, "This nation has made a decision... We will stand by our friends and engage our enemies with the goal of a victory. And as the president said in the State of the Union, 'We are in this fight to win, and we are winning.'"
The Bush Administration is unwilling to admit failure and, therefore, to take responsibility for corrective action. So, too, is the Republican Party. The latest Gallup Poll on political Party affiliation found that 30 percent of Americans Identified as Republicans. In the latest CBS poll 72 percent of the GOP approved of the way the President is handling his job. 65 percent of Republicans believe that "things are going well" in Iraq. These are the GOP stalwarts who believe that Dubya "is a Christian," and therefore can do no wrong. Plus those who thank the Prez every day for their lovely tax cuts.
The question is, what are the 70 percent of us, who are not Bush adherents, going to do about the mess that the Bush Administration has made? How are we going to overcome the madness of Emperor George before it is too late?
We must get Congress to act. On March 18 and 19th there will be a series of marches and rallies against the Iraqi occupation. These two days are an opportunity for every American, who actually believes in responsibility, to do something. These protests should be supported, but it's also vitally important that each of us contact our Senator or Congressperson and demand that they take action to stop the war. And, bolster real national security.
One more thing, at this point in time there are two Democrats who are way out in front of all the others in terms of building a war chest for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. They are Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. The weekend of March 18 and 19 provides a natural opportunity for all of us to contact them. To tell Clinton and Kerry they we expect them to speak out against the madness. That they must take a stand on principle or suffer the consequences.
The good news is that an overwhelming majority of Americans have finally come to their senses. Roughly two-thirds of us realize that George Bush is a fraud and a failure. Now we need to take corrective action. We must convince Congress to address the blunders of the Bush Administration. If they won't do it, then we need to elect new Senators and Representatives in November.