Tuesday, October 31, 2006

What Bush SHOULD Say

Ben Stein is a Republican and a former speechwriter. This Sunday, he suggested what President Bush SHOULD say and do to help with the public opinion and policy problems that plague him right now. Sounds like a good Democratic Platform, too.

My fellow Americans, I have some sobering news. It is my duty, above all, to protect the nation. I sincerely believed I was doing that when I ordered the invasion of Iraq. I still believe Saddam Hussein was the most dangerous man in the world. But it is clear to me now that things are not working out well in Iraq. Despite the incredible confidence, bravery and sacrifice of our men and women on the ground there, Iraq is still a violent, largely out of control nation. We may be making more terrorists than we destroy. "Quagmire" comes sadly to mind. It is clear that change must be made. Therefore, I have this morning accepted Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation with sincere thanks for his service to the nation. He will be replaced by a truly heroic American, Senator John McCain of Arizona.

Despite my best intentions, I made mistakes in Iraq and mine is the responsibility. Good men and women died and hard-earned tax money was lost. Fine young men and women are crippled and disabled, which is a tragedy. It is time for a change. Therefore, I am convening an official, national, bi-partisan, blue ribbon commission composed of Democrats, Independents and Republicans, civilian and military, to start meeting at once and give me a recommendation in one month as to what our Iraq policy should be. All options are on the table. All.

I want to close with this thought. I am just a man. I have no miraculous powers. I have no special pipeline to God. Like all presidents from Jefferson and Lincoln onwards — and believe me, I know I'm not in their league — I make mistakes and sometimes good people die because of them. I am deeply sorry. As we re-examine our policy, I would ask that you all pray for us to make the right decision. May God continue to bless us all. Thank you.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Thoughts on the Election and Change

I made these comments in response to a post on JokersToTheRight, but I thought they were important and general enough to post on my main page.

In the end, I view this election as a referendum on the status quo - "stay the course," if you will. The status quo has this country moving in the wrong direction; the leadership of this country has the world moving in the wrong direction. It is time for a change. Ryan is correct; the Republicans have done little to nothing to earn the support of their usual constituents. Any readers who have not already made up your minds: don't let the fear of change and the fear of accountability affect your decisions as you vote. There is a big difference between hearings about a President's sex life and hearings about the reasons that a nation went to war, a war that costs more American lives every day. The current leadership, under the Republican Party, has not provided the leadership necessary to look into and move past these vital issues on to a better future. Denying the reasons and original goals for a war means that it is open-ended, and the time has come to think about how to bring about closure in Iraq.

When leadership fails, we as the American people have the power and the responsibility to bring about change. The time is very near for us to do that.

Blogging Renaissance

What? A new post? Yep, that's right - and hopefully the first of many. I'm teaching full time now and have actually gotten back into blogging in a whole new way; I have a "class blog" that is doubling as a homepage at the moment. Check it out and see what is going on in a real public education classroom. I figured as a blog, it has the added bonus of the comments section where students can post questions or comments and respond to one another. In the meantime, I hope to get back to my political blogging as well, including a list of endorsements for the 2006 election. Stay tuned, and welcome back to anyone who might still be checking in!