Post by bot on May 25, 2004 22:44:46 GMT -5
May 25, 2004
How George Bush Can Save His Presidency (and America)
www.thousandreasons.org/opinion/052504.html
The people have turned against George Bush. Poll after poll has documented his slide in public opinion, and if he is to hold on to his job, something must change. Actually, quite a lot needs to change. Under his leadership, the country has become fearful and disillusioned, and now, after three years, the people want change. We suggest the following:
1. Fire Dick Cheney. He may have an appealing, grandfatherly mein, but he is widely perceived as the power behind the presidency. Most Americans understand that the real decisions are made by Cheney, so getting rid of him wipes the slate clean. It also removes a blatant symbol of corporate corruption and greed.
2. Get Halliburton out of Iraq. Open reconstruction bidding to international companies to help win their favor and remove the stain of corruption.
3. Get Halliburton out of the government. Cultivate smaller, less well connected companies to do those jobs civilians do best, and stop privatizing jobs that government employees do best.
4. Admit your mistakes. Begin with Iraq.
5. Admit your deceptions. Begin with Iraq.
6. Distance yourself from the neoconservatives and their ideas, which have clearly not served you well.
7. Renounce your policy of preemptive war. It violates long-standing American principles and leads other countries to build coalitions against us. It will ultimately lead to the nation's isolation and weaken our role in the world.
8. Form alliances -- real ones -- with moderate environmental groups so you can learn how best to protect our planet from pollution, greed, and neglect. People care more about the air they breathe than the profits of corporations that foul it.
9. Embrace labor unions. They are neither greedy nor Communist, and they can help you understand the lives of middle-class Americans.
10. Repeal your tax cuts. The deficit promises to choke our country and burden our grandchildren with debt. Promise a balanced budget by 2006.
11. Start reading. People across the country have been giving you wonderful advice for over three years, but you seem blissfully unaware of it. Start with the Washington Post; ease into the New York Times. Consider a subscription to The Nation.
12. Swear off lying as you did alcohol. The truth always comes out anyway, so why hide it?
13. Take a few courses at a community college. Try Ethics, History, and Literature. Your MBA is not enough; you need to discover humanity.
14. Avoid public displays of religion. Announce that God will hereafter only govern your private life, not your presidential decisions.
15. Seek peace as diligently as you have sought war. Take ten percent of the hundreds of billions you spend on the military and spend it on fostering peace. If you don't know where to spend it, do a Google search for "peace."
16. Make an honest commitment to education. Setting standards and punishing schools that don't meet them does little to improve education. Fire Rod Paige, who has no respect for teachers or the sacrifices they make daily to improve the lives of our children.
17. Develop a "real" energy policy that reduces our dependence on foreign oil, even though such a policy may cut into the profits of your friends in the oil industry.
18. Finally, devote yourself to America, all of it. All of us. America is not a business; it is a country, with ideals and values. It is far more than wealth and power. This means divorcing yourself from corporate America and engaging with the people and their needs. It means seeking equality and fairness.
How George Bush Can Save His Presidency (and America)
www.thousandreasons.org/opinion/052504.html
The people have turned against George Bush. Poll after poll has documented his slide in public opinion, and if he is to hold on to his job, something must change. Actually, quite a lot needs to change. Under his leadership, the country has become fearful and disillusioned, and now, after three years, the people want change. We suggest the following:
1. Fire Dick Cheney. He may have an appealing, grandfatherly mein, but he is widely perceived as the power behind the presidency. Most Americans understand that the real decisions are made by Cheney, so getting rid of him wipes the slate clean. It also removes a blatant symbol of corporate corruption and greed.
2. Get Halliburton out of Iraq. Open reconstruction bidding to international companies to help win their favor and remove the stain of corruption.
3. Get Halliburton out of the government. Cultivate smaller, less well connected companies to do those jobs civilians do best, and stop privatizing jobs that government employees do best.
4. Admit your mistakes. Begin with Iraq.
5. Admit your deceptions. Begin with Iraq.
6. Distance yourself from the neoconservatives and their ideas, which have clearly not served you well.
7. Renounce your policy of preemptive war. It violates long-standing American principles and leads other countries to build coalitions against us. It will ultimately lead to the nation's isolation and weaken our role in the world.
8. Form alliances -- real ones -- with moderate environmental groups so you can learn how best to protect our planet from pollution, greed, and neglect. People care more about the air they breathe than the profits of corporations that foul it.
9. Embrace labor unions. They are neither greedy nor Communist, and they can help you understand the lives of middle-class Americans.
10. Repeal your tax cuts. The deficit promises to choke our country and burden our grandchildren with debt. Promise a balanced budget by 2006.
11. Start reading. People across the country have been giving you wonderful advice for over three years, but you seem blissfully unaware of it. Start with the Washington Post; ease into the New York Times. Consider a subscription to The Nation.
12. Swear off lying as you did alcohol. The truth always comes out anyway, so why hide it?
13. Take a few courses at a community college. Try Ethics, History, and Literature. Your MBA is not enough; you need to discover humanity.
14. Avoid public displays of religion. Announce that God will hereafter only govern your private life, not your presidential decisions.
15. Seek peace as diligently as you have sought war. Take ten percent of the hundreds of billions you spend on the military and spend it on fostering peace. If you don't know where to spend it, do a Google search for "peace."
16. Make an honest commitment to education. Setting standards and punishing schools that don't meet them does little to improve education. Fire Rod Paige, who has no respect for teachers or the sacrifices they make daily to improve the lives of our children.
17. Develop a "real" energy policy that reduces our dependence on foreign oil, even though such a policy may cut into the profits of your friends in the oil industry.
18. Finally, devote yourself to America, all of it. All of us. America is not a business; it is a country, with ideals and values. It is far more than wealth and power. This means divorcing yourself from corporate America and engaging with the people and their needs. It means seeking equality and fairness.