Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 2, 2004 By Miguel Tejada-Flores Talent I just finished watching the first presidential debate. I was stunned when President Bush calmly looked into the television cameras and told millions of Americans that we "had" to go into Iraq because "they attacked us." Then Senator Kerry had the guts to say what I know I was thinking at that exact moment - and what I believe millions of other Americans were also thinking: He calmly reminded President Bush that, on Sept. 11, the people who attacked America were Al-Qaeda and Osama bin-Laden - and not Iraqis or Sadaam Hussein. President Bush was clearly upset that, in front of a national and international audience of hundreds of millions of people, he was actually being held accountable. He subsequently attempted to reassure us that the words he had just spoken ... were not 'really' what he meant. "That's not what I meant," he protested. Earlier this year, President Bush used almost exactly the same terms - "that's not what I meant" - when he was forced to deal with the aftermath of his now embarrassing "Mission Accomplished" speech, in which he boastfully announced to America and the world that the conflict in Iraq was over, that democracy had triumphed, and that U.S. Soldiers had "accomplished" their mission. When I cast my vote in the upcoming election, I will do so for a president who will speak the simple, unvarnished truth, without exaggerations, or pained repetitions of the phrase "that's not what I meant." My choice will be for a president who, when he determines that our country must endanger the lives of its men and women in a war, will do so with the support of a large community of other nations instead of a president whose policy isolates Americans and antagonizes the very real friendships, alliances, and support of many nations who have been our close friends in the past. Finally, my choice will be for a president who will apply the principles of the now famous Powell doctrine, laid out by Colin Powell: When you enter into a conflict, you do so with overwhelming force and with a plan that will permit you to secure a lasting peace and leave. It's a philosophy which was practiced by our current president's father, when he assembled a large coalition of nations after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Unfortunately, Powell was rewarded for this military advice by public rebukes and humiliation from Donald Rumsfeld, the current administration's secretary of defense, and one of the principle architects of the Iraq invasion. In the upcoming election, my choice will be for a man who has the guts to tell Americans something I believe we already know but we don't want to admit to ourselves: that things aren't going well in Iraq and they are only going to get worse. President Bush has repeatedly warned voters against what he calls the dangers of "changing horses in mid-stream." But as far as I am concerned, if the horse you are on charges towards the edge of a cliff and tries to jump off, if you want to survive, you get off the horse. If you are foolish enough, out of some misguided sense of loyalty, to want to stay on that horse's back then you will go over the cliff with him. In spite of my long-term liberal and democratic sympathies, I've had respect for President Bush's ability to openly and honestly connect with people, and to admit, often with a sense of humor, some of his own faults. But in the debate, the open, communicative, personable George W. Bush I have seen in the past was gone, replaced by a defensive and obsessive man whose repeated assurances, that somehow we are on the right track and en route to a glorious victory in Iraq. He had an almost religious fervor, but very little rationality. I don't doubt that President Bush believes many of the things he tells us. But watching the increasing numbers of deaths, injuries and mutilations to both Americans and Iraqis, I have come to a basic conclusion: the "horse" we've been riding on is on a suicidal charge towards the cliff edge - and I think it's time to get off. Miguel Tejada-Flores is a screenwriter living in Talent; among his credits is "Revenge of the Nerds." 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