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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 13, 2004 Prager on Bush is lacking Dennis Prager's passionate tribute (Feb. 4) to President Bush left me a little puzzled, this aside from his curious conclusion that Bush is hated because he is great. It was all about personal attributes. He is kind and strong, real and decent, powerful and humble. He is calm and dignified, understands prayer, is intelligent and has clarity of vision (although the nature of that vision was not mentioned). And he spoke with conviction. I could add that he is religious, likable, sociable and no doubt great fun at a party, and doesn't seem to fool around. But what does all of the above have to do with being president? Character is important but the presidency is mainly about policy - what to do about social programs, defense, regulation of business, etc. As for Bush and policy, if you are an extreme right-wing conservative, a religious fundamentalist and a neo-con in foreign policy, with all that these imply, then Bush is for you, This means that you believe 1) that social programs for the poor only weaken character, 2) that any governmental policy that restricts business for the purpose of protecting consumers, the environment or labor is wrong-headed, and 3) believe in a militaristic, go-it-alone foreign policy in pursuit of American supremacy. And all of this is exactly opposite to the kind of policies that made America the envy of the world, before Bush took over. Harry L. Cook Ashland Between wisdom and knowledge While taking long walks, I often ponder the difference between knowledge and wisdom - especially when walking through the cemetery at night. I think I've finally found a good illustration for the difference. According to the Bush administration, they had the same intelligence information as Britain, France, Germany, and Russia concerning Iraq's various weapons of mass destruction and the degree to which Iraq was a threat to world peace. Research shows that knowledge is a combination of factual information, attitudes and beliefs. A big difference seems to have been the Bush administration's attitudes and beliefs. Wisdom it seems is knowing whether to, when to and how to act upon that information. France, Germany, and Russia didn't deem it wise to invade Iraq with the information available. Draw your own conclusion. Bruce Evans Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams