by Midwest Mike

Created on: May 21, 2007   Last Updated: May 22, 2007

today's white house reaction to jimmy carter's recent criticisms of bush/blair is a clear example of textbook arch-right wing truth twisting. they accuse carter of being "reckless." folks, conservative and liberal, i ask you ... has there ever been a more reckless presidency than the current bush administration?

the most obvious example: starting a war in the wrong place with the wrong enemy by manipulating our despair over 9/11 and purposely and blatantly distorting the truth. lies were told about wmds and more, and now more than 3,000 american soldiers are dead along with god knows how many civilians. plus we've put our military in a hopeless situation where they are fighting an elusive, desperate, truly ruthless enemy on that enemy's terms ... and i think this is what has caused the prisoner abuses and attacks on iraqi civilians that have destroyed whatever credibility we may have had in the musllim world as peace-makers in this war. ironically, our actions are aiding the growth of the same extremist elements we're there to neutralize, and i greatly fear that the enemy's ranks are growing exponentially faster than their casualty count. (our right wing extremists learned nothing from vietnam.)

other examples of bush's recklessness: this man and his crew have violated treaties, further enriched the already rich, blown our hard-won budget surplus, cost us years of scientific progress in climate control and healthcare research, violated the separation of church and state ... aren't you outraged?

this 27 year era of right wing fundamentalism is the main threat our credibility and security. ronald reagan beat jimmy carter with the question, "are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?" (which was a blatantly manipulative and cynical question designed to shift voter's focus from the common good to their own self interests, thereby erasing the impact of jfk's call to "ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country." and then reagan proceeded to enrich the rich, screw the middle class and poor, undermine voter compassion, and renewed our compulsion for attacking small countries with reckless disregard for lives lost, costs and long or even short-term implications.)

i re-ask reagan's question now ... are you better off paying $3.50 for a gallon of gas? ... are you better off having someone you care about living in constant danger and maybe dying in iraq ... are you better off with the fallout from global warming threatening to swamp our coastlines ... are you better off with your state and local taxes rising and services being cut or compromised to pay for asinine tax cuts at the federal level? ... you are? ... are you really?

of course, reagan had charisma, wit and intelligence (at least on the surface) and bush senior had the sense (although it cost him reelection) to stop his stupid war at iraq's border. the amazing thing in all this is how the same americans who had zero tolerance for the lies clinton told about his sex life are so unbelievably tolerant of the war mongering, environmentally disastrous, financially irresponsible lies bush tell every day ... truly amazing.

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