Sunday, September 12, 2004
Top 10 reasons Bush should not be elected President [v 2.0]
Many many thanks to alert reader Beth, who completely revised the list and for the better. I've combined what she did with what we already had, and revised it further, adding talking points beneath. Some readers have said that the 10 points should be adjusted for different audiences, but I think let's get one message that we can get to everyone.
Readers, have at it! The rule of the game is that there can only be 10 points, so if you want to propose a new reason, you have to say which existing one to take away.
1. He fought the wrong war.
Rather than going after Al Qaeda (say, at Tora Bora) he got us into Iraq. Repeating the Big Lie that fighting Saddam was fighting AQ doesn't make it true. And he has not (barring an October Surprise) brought Osama Bin Laden to justice. (Remember "dead or alive"?)
2. He fought the wrong war badly.
Not enough troops (ask Shinseki). The wrong equipment (no body armor, not enough armored vehicles. Incompetent postwar planning. Then stop-loss orders for the Reserves.
3. He fought the wrong war for the wrong reasons.
After countless shifting justifications, Bush settled on WMDs. Then the WMDs didn't exist.
The shifting justifications showed that Bush was going to go to war, no matter what. So Bush lost all our allies. Gulf War 1 was fought with minimal loss of American life, ended in days, and the allies paid for most of it. Bush's war has cost 1000 American lives so far, there's no end in sight, and we're paying for all of it.
4. He betrayed the honor of our military by allowing and encouraging the practice of torture, prohibited in our Constitution as "cruel and unusual punishment."
If the torture at Abu Ghraib makes Bush "sick," then why hasn't he commended whistleblower Joseph Darby for revealing it?
5. He has left our cities vulnerable to devastating terrorist attack.
(See "Loose nukes: Bush still refused to take the threat seriously")
6. He drained our treasury, taking us from record surplus to record deficit.
7. Instead of funding our ailing school system, he's has saddled it with costly, bureaucratic regulations.
8. He has increased the cost of Medicare while reducing its benefits.
9. He has created more unemployment and underemployment than any since the Great Depression.
10. He has sold out our nation's health and environmental security for short-term corporate profits.
Readers, have at it! The rule of the game is that there can only be 10 points, so if you want to propose a new reason, you have to say which existing one to take away.
1. He fought the wrong war.
Rather than going after Al Qaeda (say, at Tora Bora) he got us into Iraq. Repeating the Big Lie that fighting Saddam was fighting AQ doesn't make it true. And he has not (barring an October Surprise) brought Osama Bin Laden to justice. (Remember "dead or alive"?)
2. He fought the wrong war badly.
Not enough troops (ask Shinseki). The wrong equipment (no body armor, not enough armored vehicles. Incompetent postwar planning. Then stop-loss orders for the Reserves.
3. He fought the wrong war for the wrong reasons.
After countless shifting justifications, Bush settled on WMDs. Then the WMDs didn't exist.
The shifting justifications showed that Bush was going to go to war, no matter what. So Bush lost all our allies. Gulf War 1 was fought with minimal loss of American life, ended in days, and the allies paid for most of it. Bush's war has cost 1000 American lives so far, there's no end in sight, and we're paying for all of it.
4. He betrayed the honor of our military by allowing and encouraging the practice of torture, prohibited in our Constitution as "cruel and unusual punishment."
If the torture at Abu Ghraib makes Bush "sick," then why hasn't he commended whistleblower Joseph Darby for revealing it?
5. He has left our cities vulnerable to devastating terrorist attack.
(See "Loose nukes: Bush still refused to take the threat seriously")
6. He drained our treasury, taking us from record surplus to record deficit.
7. Instead of funding our ailing school system, he's has saddled it with costly, bureaucratic regulations.
8. He has increased the cost of Medicare while reducing its benefits.
9. He has created more unemployment and underemployment than any since the Great Depression.
10. He has sold out our nation's health and environmental security for short-term corporate profits.
