As I have indicated many times on this site, I am not a huge Bush fan. I do not think he has accomplished his goals and he has expanded government rather than shrinking it. But I do not attack him personally--mostly because I think he's a good person.
Based on that last sentence, many readers will disregard this blog. They will say I am a Republican, a Bush-supporter, a right-wing puppet.
That reaction is exactly what is wrong with American politics.
I do not think Bush is a bad person. I do think he is a below-average President. Do I think Hillary Clinton is a bad person? Absolutely. Is that because I'm a Bush-lover? No. I just believe she is dishonest, disingenuous, and cares more about public opinion than reality, more about polls than progress, and more about herself than anyone else.
I also think Obama is a man of integrity. I would trust him to make decisions based on principal. I do not agree with most of his policy ideas, but I like him and trust him.
Last night on the radio I heard a caller say that she while she didn't "like him" she believed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was "better than Bush."
Wow.
If this woman lived in Iran, she would be subject to the following laws:
Article 18 of passport law, married women requires their husband's permission to apply for a passport.
Article 102 of Iran’s Constitution indicates: "Women who appear on streets and in public without the prescribed ‘Islamic Hejab’ will be condemned to 74 strokes of the lash.”
Article 300 of the Penal code states that the "Deyeh" of a Muslim woman is half of the "Deyeh" of a Muslim man. By law the life of a woman has half the value of a man in Islamic criminal law in Iran.
Article 105 of the Civil Code "In the relationship between a man and a woman, the man is responsible as head of the family." The Council of Guardians, has decreed, "A woman cannot leave her home without her husband's permission, even to attend her father's funeral".
Article 1117 of the Civil Code states that the husband may ban his wife from any technical profession that conflicts with family life or her character.
Want more? Women are executed by stoning for committing adultery. And, to top it off, it would be most unfortunate for this caller to live in Iran, where women who oppose the goverment are often improsined and submitted to sexual torture and dismemberment.
We cannot have honest conversations when people talk like this. To compare Bush to Ahmidenijad is ridiculous, to favor Ahmidenijad is, at best, sexist, racist, and treachorous.
Ahmidenjiad has said publicly that he wants to drive Israel into the ocean and eliminate Jewish people. His military supports attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Yet this woman--who is, sadly, just one of many individuals like this--publicly states that President Bush is worse than Ahmidenijad. This is astounding.
Unfortunately, the ignorant, hateful, uninformed public represent a huge portion of our voting population. There are lots of people in this country that would support that woman's statement. And, perhaps worse, the rational thinkers and politicians--on the left or right--will not condemn and discourage this type of behavior.
Extremism is the order of the day. It's popular in many circles to hate Bush and bash America. This poor caller did not even know why she felt that way. She just knew that's how she had been told to think.
"Study to show thyself worthy." Americans need to do less TV-watching and more fact-finding, because the media is no longer a reliable source for information. They present half-stories that corner people into conclusions and forward specific agendas. What we end-up with are "crazys" who actually believe, in their hearts, minds, and souls, that Ahmidenijad is "better than Bush."
