My Feelings on George W. Bush

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Alan Culkin

Dear Sir or Madam,

I’m writing to BuzzFlash because I’d like to get out my feelings about George W. Bush and some other Republicans.

I hate George W. Bush. Like James C. Moore, I voted for him in 2000, and I regret it. I hate his face and his hair. I hate the way he walks, and, most of all, I hate the way he talks. He’s really pathetic! I think he’s a mean person -- I can tell by looking at his face, especially when he speaks to reporters or an audience.

Republicans contradict themselves in different ways. After Bill Clinton left office, he moved to a high-rise apartment in Harlem and said that he felt comfortable being around African-Americans. Rush Limbaugh commented about that on the radio back then by saying, "What a crock!" It’s as if he doesn’t think Clinton was sincere in saying he felt comfortable around African-Americans. How does he know what Bill Clinton thinks? It’s as if he thinks he knew what Bill Clinton’s thoughts were!

Since there are no weapons of mass destruction found, the Republicans are saying we went to war to free the Iraqi people. If that were the case, a resolution should have been passed in the U.N. forcing Saddam Hussein to give his people mere freedom. If he refused, then he could have gone to war. When Bush was holding a press conference about the 9/11 investigation and the war in Iraq, he said that freedom is God’s gift to every human being on the planet. How does he know what God wants?! He contradicts himself because, after all, isn’t he a Christian who’s supposed to have respect for and wonder about God?! That man thinks he’s an authority on what God thinks!

There are Republicans who want to build a missile-defense shield. It’s been said that Kim Jong-il is smart enough to know that if he strikes the U.S. with a missile, his country would be destroyed. If the Republicans know this, then why do they still want to build that shield, especially since the North Koreans want normalized relations with the United States? The hard-liners in the Republican Party are so irrational. I wonder why they think North Korea would attack us? Is it because they think that country doesn’t like us? If they don’t like us, then why did their leader meet with Secretary of State Albright and have a small child give her flowers when she arrived there? Were those the actions of a country that doesn’t like us? Republicans believe in war rather than peace. They all might not believe in physical war with North Korea, but they do believe in cold war rather than making friends out of enemies.

Conservatives, such as Sean Hannity, believe that appeasement with dictators doesn’t work. How does he know that, especially since it’s never been tried with today’s dictators? It didn’t work between Chamberlain and Hitler, but that was long ago. Hannity is using that example as an excuse to lump some of today’s dictators with Hitler. Just because it didn’t work with Hitler doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work with current dictators. It’s never even been tried. There have never been completely normalized relations with Kim, Castro, or Qaddafi since embargoes were placed on them. Since we’ve never done it, how does Sean Hannity know it won’t work? How does he know that those dictators can’t be trusted?

The word "likable" does not make sense. I don’t understand why people say George W. Bush is "likable." I don’t like him. How can he be "likable" if there are people who don’t like him? Because this country is divided equally, there must be a lot of people who don’t like him, so how can politicians and people on the news say he’s "likable"? People are different from each other. Some like certain people and others don’t, so why do the media generalize that he’s "likable," especially since this country is politically divided almost evenly?

I’ve been hating Bush ever since his inaugural. He’s a joke! Everything he says and does is a joke! He tries to be presidential and a strong speaker, but he has neither of those qualities. He’s really pathetic!!! He’s an embarrassment and a poor representative of the United States. He’s not a president to be proud of. When Bill Clinton was president, I took it for granted that we had an articulate and a legitimate president with a nice personality. Bush sickens me! I hate looking at him on television! It’s as if Bush knows he shouldn’t be President of the United States -- you can see it in his sorry face!!!!

I saw the farewell service for Ronald Reagan at Simi Valley. Some tears came down my face when Nancy Reagan received the folded U.S. flag and when she leaned on the casket. I got emotional out of respect and sadness for the Reagans. I was saddened by what Nancy Reagan was going through when she finally broke down a little. This shows that I’m not against all Republicans. I’m mostly against George W. Bush.

What’s important in a leader is how good of a personality he has, good character, how strong he is, and being articulate. Bush has none of those qualities. I’ve read a book called Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. There are some photographs of John Kerry in the book. In one of the photographs, he’s sitting off in the distance with his friend Julia Thorne. It’s near the Capitol building and at the time when his fellow soldiers, back from Vietnam, were throwing away their ribbons and medals. In the photo, John Kerry is sitting with his arms around his knees and crying, with Julia Thorne by his side consoling him. I was looking at that photograph in the book, and tears started forming in my eyes because of thinking of what he had gone through in combat and what he was going through at that time in the photograph. I really want John Kerry to win the election and become President of the United States, and I’m hoping that will happen.

Sincerely,

Alan Culkin
Atlanta, GA

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION