In case you didn’t notice last night there was a Presidential address given by some one other than the president. Meanwhile the man ‘playing’ President had to just sit there and take it. It’s been 3.5 long hard years. It was hard to tell back in 2000 that it was going to be this way. Most people assumed there really wasn’t that much difference between Gore & Bush. That’s why the Nader vote didn’t seem like such a bad idea. I voted for Gore in 2000 but I didn’t believe Bush was a danger to our nation (a belief which I now hold, hindsight).
In 2000 I remember a conversation I had with a Teaching Assistant at Ohio State. We had been working on a couple web projects throughout the summer and I assisted with one of his courses in the fall of 2000. After the election he was just irate, expressing how he knew how fucked we were. I thought the whole Florida thing was a sham but I didn’t believe the sky was falling, he did. Nearly 4 years later, I believe the sky has fallen.
The Economy is in shambles, nothing the President has done in 2 years has changed anything. It took me nearly 12 months to find a job after graduation. I know several people who still haven’t found that job. Back in 1999/2000 I remember people who had jobs lined up before their senior year had started. It has not gotten any better in the last 2 years.
The War is a disaster, the President can’t even say how we got here without a wink and a smile. He seems to think since where in the thick of it it really doesn’t matter how we got here. He’s wrong. This is what the election is about, how can you trust this guy to make the right decision next time? As we saw last night he can’t argue his side effectively, which means he (and by extension my nation) is at the will of his advisers who have been wrong at every turn.
John Kerry can make his point, he’s been in tough situations before where decisions had to be made or people would die (including himself). George Bush has never had to make a decision in his live without the help of close advisers. When the cards are down and there’s nothing between you and them who can stand on his own two feet? I think last night George Bush showed he’s all hat no cattle.