Does America need another white president?
After my recent post, Is America ready for a black president? , some people thought I had a valid question, while others thought I was on the racist side. It is what it is, and it’s a touchy subject for sure, so it’s hard for me to get offended when called a racist in that context.
My question of the day is, Does America need another white president? Sure, it sounds stupid at first. After all, every US President to date has been white. And, the country has come a heck of a long way since we wriggled away from those British folks across the pond. But looking back over the past term-and-a-half of our dear President George Bush, I have my doubts.
In my previous post on the subject, I questioned whether a black man could effectively run a country such as our own. Today I ask, how is George Bush doing at the same task? What’s his approval rating these days? 30%? 40%? Either way you look at it, over half the entire country things that Bush is doing a poor job.
President Bush isn’t very articulate
The “Bushisms” didn’t bother me at first. In fact, I thought they even lent a bit of normality to the president, so that he maybe seemed more of a normal guy. However, it’s hard to sit through 6 years of listening to a guy that talks as though he never finished high school. The guy is a multi-millionaire, and President of the United States of America. I’m sure he can afford a speaking teacher….
The whole Iraq thing
When the US went to drop the hammer on Afghanistan, I was in. It sounded like a good plan, and it seemed to be a valid response to the attack on our country. The war in Iraq, however, is a different case. Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attack on our country. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, nor is there any evidence that they were working towards building them. Even if Bush had sufficient reason to believe that such weapons did exist or soon would, that does not explain why we are still there. There are no weapons, and the Iraqis will do a fine job of killing each other when we are gone.
The national debt continues to grow
A country’s debt is a hard concept to grasp. It’s intangible, and we can’t see it in our daily lives, so we tend not to think about it. But under Bush, the national debt has continued to snowball, setting new records consistently. Out of control spending is the main culprit, coupled of course with tax cuts. And don’t get me wrong, I love paying less taxes. But there is always a price to pay for living in this country, and I think most would be content to pay their fair share. The point is, billions upon billions of dollars are spent every year just to pay the interest on that debt. Isn’t that money that could be put to better use somewhere else? We are the richest country in the world, why do we have a national debt spiraling out of control?
The moral of the story
When looking over the presidential candidates at the next election, take a moment to think. Don’t vote for a candidate just because he’s the white guy. Don’t not vote for a candidate just because he’s black. Be color-blind for a moment and try to pick the candidate who you think will do a better job as president.
