(cross-posted at Deny My Freedom and Daily Kos)
[Russian president Vladimir] Putin pounced on the reference to Iraq. “We of course don’t want to have a democracy like the one in Iraq, to be honest,” he deadpanned, to laughter from Russian-speaking listeners.
Upon hearing the translation of Putin’s remark, Bush interjected: “Just wait.”
-from Reuters
The current occupant of the White House is not someone that would probably be described as patient. Indeed, with the exception of rushing to invade Iraq, ensuring that his party’s leadership in Congress brings up divisive social issues biannually, and continuing tax cuts for the wealthy that we cannot afford, the Bush administration and the Republican Party have been quite content to take its merry time doing anything of substance for America. What’s our strategy for winning in Iraq? Apparently, it’s waiting. And a good deal waiting in Iraq has done us, considering that the country is devolving into civil war.
Mr. Bush, perhaps if you bothered to step outside of your bubble for a moment or two, you’d see what your ‘waiting’ has done for the country.
It’s led to the deaths of 2,547 American soldiers in Iraq.
It’s led to an increasingly hostile North Korea launching missiles, threatening to destabilize East Asia.
It’s led to the rise of a hard-line Iranian president and yet another showdown at the UN Security Council over a country with the potential to possess weapons of mass destruction.
It’s led to the recent hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, leading the Arab League to declare that the Middle East peace process is dead.
It’s led to a global war on terror that has no end in sight.
It’s led to the deaths of thousands due to the inability of the federal government and FEMA to respond at any reasonable time.
It’s led to the unfathomably slow rebuilding of New Orleans.
It’s led to the outsourcing of American jobs overseas, and manufacturing is projected to lose 5.4%, or 777,000 jobs, by 2014.
It’s led to an increase in the number of Americans without healthcare, rising from 39.8 million Americans to almost 46 million.
It’s led to a planetary crisis on global warming, an issue that the GOP will not bother with.
It’s led to an ever-increasing national debt, undermining our economic stability and security.
It’s led to rising costs for students attending college like myself.
It’s led to record prices for gasoline, which in turn has begun to negatively affect consumer spending.
It’s led to a halt of scientific progress in the search for cures to diseases and disabilities that have no known remedies.
It’s led to a burdensome education law that is underfunded and serves to make our public schools worse.
It’s led to an illegal wiretapping program by the NSA, an intrusive financial tracking program, and countless other violations of our basic civil liberties.
“A complacent satisfaction with present knowledge is the chief bar to the pursuit of knowledge.”
We’ve been waiting long enough for Bush to change the course. Staying the course is not a plan. For a long time, Democrats have had enough, but now the rest of the country is finally seeing the truth.
Mr. Bush, your time is up.
