I wondered out loud to my wife this evening if I should even waste my time. But part of the reason I decided to "diary" on DAILY KOS was for this exact reason...I needed a place to write down my thoughts and feelings. I chose to do it here because I felt a moving in my heart and soul that was awakening to the radical idea that I could be a Christian man, and a Democrat as well.
But I have been progressively disappointed by the tone and tenure of many who have diaried about our current president.
Would you make the huge jump?
Let me get some things out there right away before I take the criticism I am sure will come.
1) I don't think George W. Bush has been a good president.
In fact, I think he has been quite bad. Okay, he's been awful...for a variety of reasons that have been intelligently (at times) discussed on this site.
2) I am a registered Republican, but this does not mean I am evil, or that I am to blame for the things in our country that you don't like. I am one vote. Many times I have voted out of party, or I have simply not voted. At other times I have made the mistake of voting on a single issue, like abortion, for instance. This doesn't make me bad or ill-informed. It certainly doesn't make me part of the problem.
3) I was absolutely hoping that Barack Obama would be chosen as our next president. I was unable to vote however, because along with my wife and 4 year old twins, we have decided to give our lives to the betterment of the Guatemalan people...and we were not able to figure out the out-of-country process for voting soon enough. We were celebrating along with you however on November 5 with tear-filled eyes.
4) I have NO proof to back up my claims that George Bush is a good man. So the case I will make will be one from my, (drum-roll please)...gut. God, I hope you can still listen after I just wrote that down.:)
You see, I don't think being a good person makes you a good president. I thought (and still do think) that Jimmy Carter was (is) a good man, and I think he was an awful president. I don't think Bill Clinton would qualify as a good person for me, personally, and for many reasons...but I think he was a really good president.
"What about the issues?", you say. Well, I'll get to that in a moment. But I want you to know that I don't make up my mind about a person solely because they seem to be a good person, or not. It does give me a baseline of respect when I talk about them, however.
Why do I think George Bush is a good man? Well, there are some tangible things to consider: His faithful marriage to his wife Laura. The fact that he has raised to nice young ladies. His ability to reach deep inside to conquer the disease of alcoholism. His love for the continent of South Africa, and wanting to rid that country (and the world) of AIDS. The way he broke from other Republican leaders in his views of illegal aliens, and wanting a path to citizenship while keeping their families together here. His desire to leave no child behind in our educational system. And, I could continue.
Now, does this outweigh his governance, and the bad things that have happened on his watch? NO. But it does provide a baseline for how I talk about a person... How I fill in the blanks when I don't understand their motives, and so on.
So even when I feel like some of his policies have hurt our country, I give him respect, because I think he is a good man, and because he is my president.
And yes, when Bill Clinton was my president, and he was caught with his you-know-what in the absolutely wrong place, I bravely told my Republican friends the same thing I'm telling you. He's still your president, show him some respect.
Today, someone threw a shoe at our president.
Instead of that appalling and angering you; I have read some comments on this site as if that guy were a hero.
And so, I'm worried about my country.
I'm worried for you.
Because someday we will all be judged.
And have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, you're wrong about the man? That he never did celebrate at the pictures from Abu Ghraib, but that he hurt as well? That he never did wage a war that killed thousands of Americans and Iraqis because he wanted oil? That maybe he thought he was doing the right thing to keep America safe? That he's not an idiot? That his administration's slow response time after Katrina was not because he hates black people? That he doesn't want to spy on your phone call to Grandma, but that he's trying to catch bad guys?
Maybe I'm naive. And I guess that could be.
But the nice thing for you is that I will also take the high road with the next president. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and wish the best for him and his family.
I will want him to suceed.
And when scandal comes his way, as is the case with Blagojevich, I will choose to trust him.
And I will be mad as hell if anyone, but especially a foreigner, throws anything more than a compliment his way.
We live in a great country. I can't say that about the one where I serve currently. Here they do have leaders that try to hurt their own people.
I can think of a lot of good and bad presidents in our nation's history. Many that were "bad" was because they resided in difficult and perilous times. Some rose to the occasion, and some did not. But I can honestly say that I feel like ALL of them tried to do what they thought was right for the American people.
That's an amazing thing to say about a country.
And I don't think President George Bush ruined that legacy one bit.