How Will We Remember Bush?

Unfortunately, History Books Will Remember George Walker Bush as a Good President 

Why Democrats Won’t File Criminal Charges

There are many charges Democrats could file against Pres. George Walker Bush --- but they won’t.  If you or I did some of the things Pres. Bush did, we probably would be going to jail with a long sentence.  Most of us know that the extreme wealthy of our society follow a different set of rules and laws than the rest of us do.

We hear frequently that Democrats didn’t want to file impeachment charges against the Bush administration, but we don’t necessarily hear the real reasons why.  This prompted me back in 1999 to write letters to 3 top Democrats to find out the reasons --- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama.  Pelosi and Clinton didn’t respond to my letters but Obama did.

Obama’s response:

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on impeaching President George W. Bush.  I appreciate and share your high level of dissatisfaction and frustration with the President, his actions and his priorities.  I disagree with him on many issues, ranging from the war in Iraq to the future of Social Security to funding our children's schools.  I support robust Congressional investigations into his administration and  the highly questionable actions it has taken in areas such as domestic spying and the U.S. attorney firings.  He has horribly mismanaged the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. 

The Democratic Congress has achieved important progress this year, but we are still stymied by a President who is out of sync with the American people, vetoing legislation to responsibly get us out of Iraq and to support increased stem cell research.America needs to move forward again, and I don't believe that continuing this era of bitter partisanship is the best course of action.   As I travel the country campaigning, I hear the call for a new direction and a change in our politics, a thirst for something more.

I don't believe impeachment answers this call.  I believe if we begin impeachment proceedings we will be engulfed in more of the politics that has made Washington dysfunctional.  We would once again, rather than attending to the people's business, be engaged in a tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, non-stop circus.Instead, I will continue to move forward with a positive agenda in the Senate and on the campaign trail.  I hope you will stay involved and work for progress on the issues that matter most to you.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama 
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Paid for by Obama for America

So, what we have here is a Senator, now President, who is willing to overlook Bush’s “mismanagement” and many of his “questionable acts”; however, impeachment is not in order?  Nor criminal charges?  Unfortunately, despite the lack of response from Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Clinton, it appears that Obama’s words speak for the Democratic Party and the direction it has chosen.

Since when are criminal and “questionable” acts merely a continuance of “bitter partisanship”?

From a historical perspective it is so interesting to view an America so upset and disgusted with President Bill Clinton’s extra marital indiscretions that it prompted the Congress to initiate impeachment procedures, yet the same Congress remains so lenient and placid regarding Bush’s many illegal and “questionable” activities.

Perhaps as Obama stated, America needs to move on in a more positive direction; however, how can we do that if we don’t hold a president accountable for his actions?  How can we close our eyes to the many “indiscretions” perpetrated by George Walker Bush?

It must be clear now to most legislators and American citizens that Pres. Bush no longer can be trusted to manage in the best interests of the U.S. or our World Nations.  The issue of trust is one that also affects our Congress.

How can American citizens trust a Congress that permits Bush’s transgressions and criminal actions to avoid ongoing “partisan” animosities?  Does this also mean that our future leaders aren’t going to be held accountable for their actions?  Are we going to ignore the actions of future Bush’s, Cheney’s and Libby’s?

I suppose the end result is that history will view Bush as a good president and our American Democracy will continue despite the restrictions placed on our rights and civil liberties.

I suppose the pendulum will swing back slowly to permit some returning to a more humble America, one hopefully in which the rights and liberties of our citizenry will be reinstated and upheld.

I suppose then more of our tax dollars will be spent domestically in an attempt to provide more Americans with a better quality of life.

Yet the real question remains, “Who will hold our present and future leaders accountable?”