So, Chicago Faucet, now that we are into an election year, what is your opinion on President Bush thus far?
During a time of increased terrorism against Americans, he is opening up the borders to make it easier for illegal immigrants to enter our country and stay. Perhaps he was trying to do away with this problem by making something that was previously illegal, now legal. You know, if it’s not illegal, then it can’t be that bad anymore. While most of these immigrants are hard working individuals, who can contribute to our society, I doubt that Bush would have done this on his own. So he was probably influenced by the politicians around him in a campaign year. I also doubt the sound logic of this decision during a time when natural Americans are fighting to hold on to their jobs. Productivity will go up and costs will go down, but the value of what we are making will fall. It’s good to ration out what other people want, then the value stays high. Slight minus.
He was only in office for 8 months before the largest attack on American soil ever occured. He didn’t lose his cool. Instead he mobilized the finest military the world has ever seen and pretty much crippled Al Qaeda, capturing three quarters of Al Qaeda higher-ups, and infiltrated their network. But they are still a threat because too many resources were diverted to Iraq. While I don’t condone invading other countries, this was obviously a two pronged fork: retribution, and preemptively stall any further attempts of the same magnitude of attack. The country and our way of life is safer because of it. Big plus.
He has also accomplished the largest government sponsored medical plan ever. While this was a smart political move to overshadow the Democrats at their own game, without so much as a single muscle flexed, it only slides us further down the slippery slope that FDR started us on. From now on, people will think that it is their right to retire at 65 and have all of their medical expenses taken care of. Big minus.
The deficits that he is incurring are some of the largest ever. However, most of that deficit went to two very important subjects: war on terrorism and an economic stimulus. The tax cut for the economic stimulus is already showing results. The third quarter of 2003 saw a growth of eight percent, the highest in a decade. Taxes are lower than ever, and I will have the largest tax refund in my adult professional life thus far. I will use that money to pay off debt and to invest. While terrorism isn’t defeated, the war on terrorism is equivalent to the war on drugs. This will go on indefinitely, with mixed long term results. In short, the amount of money that the US has spent so far will pale in comparison to amount that will have to be spent over the next decade, and beyond. Slight plus.
One unexpected benefit of the war on terrorism so far is that we have definitely made our point clear to the other nations around the globe, and we are starting to see the reaping in Iran, Syria, and Libya of the seeds that we sowed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Slight plus, eventhough I see it as unintentional.
We went to war in Iraq. The end result was that Saddam Hussein is now in captivity, along with three quarters of Iraqi higher ups, and his two sons are dead. The peace in Iraq is touch and go for the time being, but I am optimistic that a free republic will surface from the chaos. Slight plus.
But President Bush’s credibility is in question over the matter of the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. First this was a foregone conclusion that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and then the very opposite was the given truth. Now we are stuck somewhere in between as the possibility of these weapons being smuggled to somewhere else is being investigated, and the intelligence is being rechecked. The two Presidential Administrations before the current Administration all told us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. For that matter, so did the UN, France, Germany, and Russia. If nine out of ten dentists recommend it… A majority of the UN sanctions were broken by Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Hmmm. Tough one. Could go either way. Your critics say that the weapons of mass destruction were simply a means to an end. Well, the whole means of the end was to remove Saddam Hussein from power. That was accomplished. Still, this is a break even, especially since it is still unresolved.
President Bush, after even thing was sifted, I give you a big plus on your job so far. I believe that I will vote for you again.