Bush Views
America
as a Ten-Year Old Child
By Anthony Wade
OpEdNews.com
Every now and again in politics candidates screw up
and say something that is so revealing that it offers us a glimpse into
what they really are thinking when the cameras aren’t rolling. This
past week, with little media attention, we had such a defining moment in
this election season.
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said
yesterday that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old
child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent. Did
you get that
America
? Bush views us all as children who need protecting. This of course
explains the mindset this administration has had.
Because I Said So
I am sure we all remember this reason given by our
parents when we were growing up. The child, now understanding the power
of the question why, is rebuked by the parent without actually providing
the actual rationale for the decision. Bush has done this with impunity
to us for over three years now.
The war in
Iraq
has nothing to do with terrorism. It has been proven that Saddam had no
ties with 911 or al Qaeda. This fact was further verified by the 911
Commission, which was led by the Republican Party. When these facts from
the commission came to light we saw the following quote from Bush, "The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between
Iraq
and Saddam and al Qaeda is because there was a relationship between
Iraq
and al Qaeda." Translation? Because I said so.
Further destroying the president’s credibility is
the fact that Saddam apparently was telling the truth about dismantling
his WMD programs. Of course when confronted about this dilemma by Diane
Sawyer, president Bush’s response was “so, what’s the difference.”
Now I understand his position better. Essentially he was simply acting
like a parent saying, “because I said so”.
Bush’s own records about his Guard service prove
the fact that he went AWOL. He has multiple reports missing that could
prove his whereabouts from 1972 forward, yet every time he releases his
records, portions are “missing” or “coincidentally destroyed.”
When asked repeatedly about these allegations Bush has responded with
“I am proud of my service”, “I have released all my records”, or
“This is old news”. Once again, parentally telling us, because I
said so.
On the economy, we now have a better insight into
this corner that Bush keeps saying we have turned. When all economic
indicators are against you, when people living in poverty increases
every year under your stewardship, when 45 million people are without
healthcare and when you will have a negative job creation record, the
only thing a parent can say is, “because I said so.”
Child (you and I): But Mr. President,
you shipped my job overseas and cut my unemployment benefits.
Bush: Don’t worry, we are not
looking back!
Child (you and I):
But but, why?
Bush: Why, because I said so.
All economic experts say that Bush’s tax cuts for
the rich have ballooned the deficit to the point that we cannot expect
it to rebound anytime soon. The answer from Bush is that the tax cuts
are stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Bush will need 900,000
jobs created in the next two months just to get back to zero for his
administration. Essentially, the answer from Bush when questioned about
his bragging about the economy is, “because I said so”.
Grow Up!
Whenever a parent is faced with a child that they
feel is not behaving the way they want, this is usually the idiom used.
We see it from Bush and company as well.
Arnold
in essence was saying to all unemployed people Grow Up! when he called
them all economic girly-men.
In discovering the “donut”, a hole in the Bush
Medicare plan, which could make seniors have to pay up to $2,850 per
year, advocates questioned the sincerity of Bush to really help seniors.
The response from Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson was,
"Only a pessimist would look at a doughnut and complain about a
hole."
Grow up you seniors!
Don’t Look Under the Bed
If you really want an example of Bush treating you
like a child, look no further than the war on terror. Parents will often
take short cuts in raising their children, using fear to motivate them
to not ask questions. The boogeyman was created for children and since
that is how Bush views you and I, he uses it too.
The first boogeyman was Osama bin Laden, you
remember him don’t you? Bush would use this boogeyman to justify his
invasion into
Afghanistan
. It was bin Laden who knocked down our buildings and the mean evil
Taliban was harboring him. When Bush was asked why his administration
had just given those same Taliban 43 million dollars, his response
essentially was, because I said so. We received daily booga-booga about
bin Laden during the entire lead up to and invasion of
Afghanistan
. Of course,
Afghanistan
was only an appetizer for Bush.
Iraq
was the main course.
Enter boogeyman number two, Saddam Hussein. Now,
any child will tell you there can only be ONE boogeyman. There aren’t
two waiting for you in the closet. Bush had a problem because he still
had bin Laden as his boogeyman. But like any good parent, he dispelled
bin Laden, by stating the he “really didn’t think about him much
anymore.” You don’t have to worry about that mean guy anymore
because I marginalized him. This other guy though, he is the REAL
boogeyman.
Bush: You have to be scared of him,
because he has all these mean, scary weapons. He has anthrax; I know he
does because my daddy sold it to him a long time ago.
Child (you and I): but given the
shelf life of anthrax wouldn’t that make it useless today…
Bush: No, he has 3000 gallons of VX
Nerve Agent and mobile weapons labs.
Child (you and I): but I thought Mr.
Blix said that Saddam was allowing unfettered inspections and that
nothing was being found.
Bush: Look I know he has this stuff
and you need to grow up and realize that it is there because I SAID SO!
You know the world is better off without this boogeyman! Don’t make me
raise the terror alert to magenta, don’t you make me do it!
Summary
John Kerry correctly labeled this comment as
condescending. The truth is, this was an honest view into how George W.
Bush views you, the American citizen. He thinks you are a child. He has
run the most secretive administration in history, classifying more
documents than any previous president. When the people dare to ask why,
his response is often parental. We need protection. It is like at the
old family Thanksgiving Day dinners. At the parent table is Bush, his
advisors, and Halliburton. We are relegated to the children’s table in
the living room, out of earshot of what is really going on in our
country. When we ask why
Iraq
has more of a domestic agenda than the
US
, and why the Pentagon has a budget of over 440 billion dollars annually
while No Child Left Behind is unfunded, we are told derisively to grow
up. When we have the temerity to ask why our kids have to die when it
appears that there were no WMD, we are told, “Because I said so.”
Whenever we start to feel a little too big for our britches and start
thinking independently, we get the terror color elevated and a healthy
dose of booga-booga.
Here is the problem though. Even if you believe
George Bush was elected, he was not elected to parent us, he was elected
to represent us. He has circumvented some of the most basic principles
upon which our country was founded, including habeas corpus and checks
and balances, all for “our own good.” Somehow this parental
treatment is acceptable for a great many people in this country who
still support our daddy-in-chief. It is time for us as Americans to send
a message to George Bush and his cronies. If you are sick and tired of
being treated like a child with disdain from this president then it is
time step away from the children’s table and see what the adults are
doing in the kitchen. This is your country. You are a citizen, not a
child. No matter how Bush feels about you.
Anthony Wade
is co-administrator of
a website devoted to educating the populace to the ongoing lies of
President George W. Bush and seeking his removal from office. He is a
37-year-old independent writer from
New York
with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites.
A Christian progressive, and professional counselor, Mr. Wade
believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable
for lies and excess.
Anthony Wade’s
Archive: http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm
Email Anthony:
takebacktheus@gmail.com
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