We! The People Webzine: Hope on the Horizon by Becky A. Coats

By: Becky A. Coats
January 8, 2007

Americans have used the phrase, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, their entire lives. Thanks are to whomever you want to thank. That little truism, again, played out in the political arena. A major shift in public opinion regarding the handling of the Iraq war changed the balance of power in the 110th Congress and President Bush now finds himself at odds with the vast majority of rational, thinking America. Standing behind the podium the day after he lost his shirt in the midterm elections, the President was visibly shaken. Even as I danced with joy, still in my pajamas and fuzzy slippers, I had to feel a little pity for Texas's favorite pretend cowboy who had been rudely awakened from a sweet dream in which he was the modern day Roy Rogers. Having just holstered his six shooter after taking out the bad guy, he was sitting tall on Trigger with Dale (Laura) walking by his side. What a shock it must have been to wake up with the nauseating feeling of falling off a dead, stuffed Trigger and at the same time, realizing he was looking at Karl Rove instead of Dale (Laura). "The horror! The horror!" (Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now - sorry, I could not resist!) He promised he heard the people's concerns and was ready to make some changes. For the first time in his Presidency, George Bush seemed genuinely sorry. It appeared as though the weight of his responsibility finally hit home.

The morning of December 20, 2006, during his press conference regarding the Iraq Study Group (ISG) report, it became apparent that He still thinks HE alone is the decider. Born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, George W. Bush has no earthly idea of what suffering means. His definitions of sacrifice, tough and hard are far different than those of the average American family who lives them out in the negative extreme on a daily basis largely due to his ideologies. Further, having spent scant time in the National Guard (much of which, listed AWOL), he plays at being commander in chief without thought for the consequences of his actions. Never willing to accept responsibility, the President continues to twist the collective American voice and now states, "I thought the election said they want to see more bipartisan cooperation." Indeed, that is what we want and what we got … bipartisan cooperation against, NOT with the President.

What part of Bring Our Troops Home, Mr. President does he not understand? Former Secretary of State Colin Powell continues to remind Americans, we have done the surge thing. We did it in Baghdad in August with little, if any, success. The President's hand-picked Generals, Casey and Abizaid (soon to be retired … hmm) have warned against it. They saw the results in August and presciently advised focusing military efforts on training Iraqi troops to take over their own security while beginning the scale down of American troops. Sounds like the Generals agree with the American electorate.

Yes. There are those voices crying Failure is not an option. We cannot lose. We must WIN! Veteran survivors of Viet Nam, I can understand why Senator John McCain and retired General Jack Keane continue to stress the importance of victory over defeat. However, by the only rational definition in this case, the United States achieved military victory with Saddam caught and brought to justice. Now, he is dead and sectarian violence is increasing. Our troops must not and cannot be required to fight Iraq's Civil war for them.

Despite the electorate's will, President Bush is determined to give his definition of victory one more shot. Therefore, the war in Iraq drags on with no end in sight. Two Americans killed today, two more tomorrow, the day after and so on. Americans dead in Bush's ideological war is now over 3,000 … more than killed on 9/11.

However, hope is on the horizon. Senators, Dodd (Connecticut), Nelson (Florida) and Kerry (Massachusetts) flew to Damascus in early December to meet with Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. I can only imagine how red-faced President Bush must have been upon hearing of their unauthorized act of diplomacy. He probably had a worse day, Tuesday, December 26th, when he learned that Republican Senator Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) was then flying to Damascus and had strongly suggested other Republicans would follow his lead. These actions prove We, the People, were heard loud and clear in Washington. We believe in diplomacy and that showing respect fosters respect. We believe in peace. We do not believe in George W. Bush.