When Obama is asked what he is going to do when he becomes President, part of his answer is couched in what he is not going to do. We know he is going to do things differently from the GW Bush era. If there is one benefit we have from the Bush years (and believe me, I think this is the only benefit), we learned what it is we don’t want to be, what we don’t like, and what needs to be changed.Here are just some of the things that have gone wrong with the Bush administration:
- Rushing to war with a cowboy mentality that encouraged our friends to stand aside and not be part of a global decision
- Discounting the environment and global warming resulting to violent weather changes in our world
- Allowing lobbyists to make the rules and set policy that benefits their own companies rather than the benefit of the nation (greed vs what is right).
- Escalating and expensive war in Afghanistan & Iraq
- Censorship, secrecy, cover ups and lies in the highest of government offices
- The privatization of war with different expectations, rules, pay, and accountability
- No bid contracts given to "friends"
- Money distributed for war & disasters with absolutely no accountability and no tracking.
- Soaring energy prices with essentially no energy policy
- A worsening economy and corporate failures
- Rising unemployment
- Corporate bail-outs and corporate welfare without any reforms
- Failed disaster relief (Katrina)
- Failed education program (No Child Left Behind Program produced new rules but with inadequate support and funding)
- Inadequate Veterans Healthcare
- More citizens with no access to healthcare
- Medicare drug program benefiting selected companies rather than Seniors
- Guantanomo Bay, torture, continuous Human Rights Violations
- Creating an environment of cxclusion (with the me vs you mentality. comments of “You are either with me or against me”)
- Creating an atmosphere that gave loyalty a higher priority than integrity, truth, or fairness
- Blurring religion with government
- More secrecy
- Privacy of our citizens is no longer protected and more government spying.
- A lack of inquisitiveness, discussion, and exploring alternatives
Soon we will have new president and a new administration. And what most of us are excited about is that we no longer want to be defined by President Bush and his administration. We demand fair government. We demand a truthful, honest, and open government that supports the citizens and not those tied to the Presidency. We expect integrity. We want the government to be accountable and who gets our money to be accountable. We expect results without excuses. We want our environment protected and an end to the Wars. We expect to have heath care for all our citizens.
The Bush years have been like being married to a secretive and abusive husband; lies, spending the household money, and ignoring the suffering of the family. We finally have the collective wisdom in this country to say “NO MORE” with this last election! We have learned what we don’t want in a leader by living (and surviving) through the Bush years. We deserve better and we are hoping and expecting Obama to be better. Much better.
So, to GW Bush, a thanks for helping to clarify what it is we don’t want and don’t want to be. The service you provided helped us come to agreement on what we are NOT. To President Elect Obama, we expect more from you. We expect you to focus on main street’s needs and help us create the kind of nation we can once again be proud and honored to live in. Don't let us down.
