the pillars are gone

The Bush presidency has relied on two pillars: Iraq and 9/11.

The events of 9/11 rallied the world to the side of America in the fight against global terror. Bush became the symbol of defiance against the jihadist enemy. It was at that moment he squandered a momentous opportunity to rally the country for a national cause, reevaluating the nation's goals when it came to energy, economic policy and national service. Instead, he divided the country in half and declared the Bush doctrine of preemptive war all while cutting taxes and presiding over exploding deficit spending, making him the biggest spender in history. Due to fear, the country went along for the ride and against all reason give him another chance last year.

The second pillar is this war. Again, it must be stressed this was not a war of necessity. Preemptive war never is. This was not a humanitarian war, Abu-Gharib proved that. The insurgency there is a product of America. We are now stuck in the same position we were in the 1960's, we can't cut and run and we can't continue to lose. The public knows this and is not happy.

We will have to come to the realization that until we can get new leadership in our government nothing will change in Iraq. The failed policies will continue. No one will be held accountable. This president will wave goodbye as he takes off on the White House lawn in 2009 never fully grasping the damage he has wrought on this nation. The very fact that torture entered the american dialog will be in the history books in the same paragraph as George W. Bush.

Unless we see a radical change of the man, we will never move forward.