As I have aged, I find that I becoming more apolitical, not really identifying with either conservatives or liberals, democrats or republicans. Though for most of my adult life, I was a conservative Republican.
What has stunned me in the past year has been the pervasive visceral hatred towards the President that I have observed almost everywhere. If someone had told me in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, that the U.S. would not suffer another such attack, and that the economy would recover and be as strong as the one we enjoy today, few would have believed it. Yet I have not found anyone willing to give the President an ounce of credit for either blessing. Iraq seems to be the chief, though not the only, catalyst for this animosity. I certainly don't know enough of the real facts behind the President's decision to go to war, to know if the decision was sound or not. I do know that much of the early opposition to the war was politically based. I am very disappointed that the President has never really effectively explained his actions to the public. The parallels to Viet Nam are very real. Initial opposition to a war was tepid, in time, the public grows weary, and slowly but surely the tide turns against the administration. I suppose the positive side of this is that war should never be an easy option, it should definitely be used only as a last resort. On the other hand, sometimes, it is necessary to take action. The next time we are faced with a 9/11 type crisis, whover occupies the Oval Office, might not lead the nation as effectively as Bush did in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Calling upon world leaders and speaking before the U.N. are necessary actions, but are not solutions in and of themselves.
As for the economy, the statistics and the stock market seem to think it's great, the media and the public don't seem to share the feeling.
AI
