Cartoon by Steve Benson / Arizona Republic
The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership.... a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures.": William Fulbright
The Bush ship has run aground.
Hurricane Katrina has lifted it from its flimsy neocon moorings and cast it on the beach ~ sitting on the debris of broken promises, hubris and constant deceptions.
Bush stands alone on its empty flight deck finally having to face the reality of his watch ~
1. Launching a war of choice based on lies and flawed intelligence as well as thousands of unnecessary deaths.
2. The tripling of global terrorist attacks under his watch.
3. The $1.40 increase in the price of gasoline over 4 years.
4. An all-time high trade deflicit of nearly 700 million.
5. A 7% decrease in the real value of the minimum wage.
6. A 11% increase in poverty
7. Six million new uninsured Americans
8. Four straight years of declining median household incomes ~ while corporate CEO's reached all time highs.
As Columnist E.J. Dionne Jr wrote today in The Washington Post ~ " The Bush Era is over . The sooner politicians in both parties realize that, the better for them ~ and the country. His policies are failing, his approach to leadership is detached and self-indulgent, his way of politics has produced a divided, angry and dysfunctional public square . We dare not go on like this. "
The age of the warrior king or president has past and the world community is hungry for a new kind of leadership.
As such, Bush has served his purpose by arrogantly demonstrating what doesn't work on the world stage and setting the stage for a leadership, as William Fullbright so eloquently writes, " that is committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition."
We dare not settle now for anything less.
Allen L Roland
Catch me on the first Monday of every month
7 AM and 4PM PST
TRUTHTALK
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