Presidential Leardership Failure

(written by my friend David and I happen to agree...)

In the president we expect a leader -- that is to say someone who can envision trends and help to position our country to be stronger in the future than it is today. Here are some of the trends we are facing, and how our "leader" has responded and compromised our future.

Climate change -- accepted by the scientific community and widely acknowledged to be a contributing force to more severe weather events, e.g., hurricanes.

Bush response: pull out of Kyoto accord and denounce climate change as bunk; do not institute any programs to reduce green house gas emissions; relax environmental laws.

Energy/Oil - increasing world demand and stagnant/limited supply. It is clear that oil reserves are finite and that future economic productivity will need to rely less on oil than it does today. Whichever country can lead in the development of alternative energy technology will likely develop a very significant export economy in the sector.

Bush response: Drill in national wildlife refuge; give subsidies to those who drive gas-guzzling hummers; give tax incentives to the oil industry; make no serious effort in energy conservation; do not develop a serious alternative energy policy; let oil companies be the principal drafters of national energy policy.

National savings/Fiscal responsibility -- fiscal discipline is necessary to enable the country to have the flexibility to respond to future crises (economic, security and natural) and to maintain our current economy.

Bush response: runs up the biggest deficits in history, after inheriting a surplus - placing a large mortgage on our future budgets, strapping the current and next generations with more debt and reducing our ability to respond flexibly to current and future shocks; spends massively on a now unpopular foreign war while concurrently implementing tax cuts. Promises virtually unlimited response to Hurricane Katrina, before a clear plan for how the money will be spent has even been developed - no clear plan as to how to finance recovery.

National security - Need to maintain a network of cooperation among nations and battle terrorist threats. Terrorism is a global phenomenon that needs international effort to curtail, and also requires improved relations among Islamic countries.

Bush response: Squanders massive global goodwill toward US that followed 9/11 by invading Iraq under false pretense; fails to focus on capturing Bin Laden; diverts military and security resources to a war with a country that has nothing to do with 9/11; alienates much of world, including China and Russia, traditional enemies who for the first time recently held joint military exercises. Invasion of Iraq, among other actions, leads to lowest ever opinions of the US among Islamic countries, possibly fueling additional future terrorist acts and support.

Education - workforce productivity- the US highly educated and entrepreneurial workforce is what has enabled our country to achieve high living standards. To maintain these standards in the face of increasing competition from Europe, China, India and others the US to maintain its advantage.

Bush response: Cut funding for Pell grants (for economically disadvantaged to attend college); endorses teaching of "intelligent design", which places religion into public school teaching and reduces the time children have to learn real science.

On virtually every front of strategic importance to our country -- national security, environment/climate change, fiscal discipline and education -- Bush is making our country weaker and compromising our future. When Bush talks about a stronger America it is just more hollow rhetoric -- he's doing the opposite.

David