One more year. In November next year, a new president will be anointed. President Bush has one more year to ensure it isn't so. The Democrats have their own agenda. They have begun their attack. Over the last weekend, I watched Hardball with Chris Matthews.
It is part of a special series entitled "Hardball Battle for the White House." He was interviewing Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. Kerry took every opportunity to attack and defile President Bush's administration. He spoke against his tax cuts, he ridiculed his war efforts.
During the televised Democratic presidential contenders' debate, each of the Democratic contenders took the effort to attack Bush's policies. They spoke against his postwar policy in Iraq, they accused him of failing to protect his troops and they accused him of lying to the American people.
"Our troops are today more exposed, are in greater danger, because this president didn't put together a real coalition, because this president's been unwilling to share the burden and the task. And I will tell you, the American people understand that," Kerry said.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark said: "President Bush said he'd get Osama bin Laden dead or alive. Instead he went after Saddam Hussein. He doesn't have either one of them."
Reverend Al Sharpton said: "It is an insult to keep telling Americans to send our children to war is an honor, to risk their lives to die for the country, but it's a burden for the rich to pay their taxes to the country."
Over the last three years, Bush has been at the helm of the most powerful country in the world. He has shouldered responsibility that is far greater than any one man can ever hope to handle. With a year left in his term, the opposition is playing hardball.
They are using Bush as a punching bag, a bad example, to showcase their apparently better personalities.
Is this human nature? Do we need to put down another to uplift ourselves? Do we need to deride the enemy to prove our might? Do they need to say Bush has been a horrible president to prove they can be better? Is this a culture ingrained in us? A couple of months ago, my friend, who was working selling knives, demonstrated her sales speech to my father and I.
During the pitch, she compared her company's knives to those of her competition and showed how hers was better. She had brochures of her competition. My father told her to remove the comparison from her speech. Why should she put down the competition to prove her knives were sharper?
Switch on the television and every advertisement focuses on comparison. Why is the Chevy better than the Ford? Why is the Swiffer better than its rivals? Why is one allergy medicine better than another? Why is Huggies better than Snuggies?
Making comparisons has become a part of our lives. We can no longer say "I did this" without saying "He didn't do it." During the presidential contenders' debate, Dennis Kucinich, R-Ohio, accused former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean of running a television commercial that falsely said Dean was the only contender to oppose the war in Iraq. Would it have not been enough for Dean to air an advertisement saying he opposed the war, instead of saying he was the only one to oppose it?
During his tenure, President Bush has managed to strengthen homeland security.
He established the Department of Homeland Security, one of the most important steps in preventing further attacks.
He has constantly worked to make the Americans feel safe. That was most important after 9/11. He led a war against terrorism that at that time was popularly supported by the American public.
He promised to improve education facilities and he worked toward that, establishing national standards, boosting parental involvement and promising more federal funds.
By signing the Farm Bill last year, Bush re-emphasized his support for the agriculture sector.
He has strived to establish better relations with the African nations, meeting with more than 20 heads of state.
The president is fighting an aggressive battle against corporate fraud. Last year, the president announced his "Ten-Point Plan to Improve Corporate Responsibility and Protect America's Shareholders." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted his plan. The president has proposed strong reforms to the pension plans to protect American workers.
There is one more year. No matter what shortcomings the president might have had, it is time to support him, help him bring this country back to its state of normalcy.
It is not a time to throw stones and break more than what has been chipped away already. It is not a time to tarnish each other's images and prove by default our better worth. We don't need our next president to point fingers at others, but rather to remember that for every finger pointed at someone else there are more pointed back toward them.
