Bush Declares that He Remains Relevant

Bush Declares that He Remains Relevant comes to us from the Washington Post.com. (Click on the Hyber Link above to see the article.) Yesterday, October 17, 2007 President Bush "went off" on Congress. He claims to be upset that they are not moving any bills through. He says it is their fault, and that he will start vetoing bills if they do not get their act together. He states that his veto power is what makes him relevant, even though he is becoming more and more unpopular among the U.S. citizens. Of course Congress is also very unpopular right now and President Bush is feeding off that, just as President Clinton did toward the end of his time in office. In my opinion, this is a sad attempt to make some "noise" before he leaves office. I find myself wondering if he really intends to do any more in office, or does he even care?

President Bush vetoed a popular children’s health program expansion. He proposed a 20% budget increase for the program; however analysts say that would not even be enough to cover the kids that are currently in the program. The increase would have given the program an extra $35 billion over the next five years, which would double the programs funds and therefore would cover about 10 million people. The program currently covers about 6.6 million. This all sounds good, however there are people in the program right now, who are eligible but are not receiving coverage. President Bush claims that if the 20% increase is not enough, then he and Congress would get together and find the money. How are you going to work with Congress if you are yelling and threatening them? I really don’t think that Bush has any intention of really reforming this children’s health care program, nor does he have any intention of really doing much else in his last 15 months in office. It is my opinion that he is trying to take some of the heat off of him by blaming Congress.

A great leader is what this country needs. I don’t feel that we have had one for many years. None of the presidents for the past 20-35 years in my opinion have made any life altering changes while in office. Politics has become too much of a game, just like corporate America. If you want to survive then you have to play the game. It is not ever easy being the unpopular one, and making some real changes. However, it is something this country needs. Bush I feel thought he was doing something good when he made the unpopular decision to continue with the War in Iraq. However, there are so many other issues that need to be addressed, and it is a shame that he will only be remembered for his War on Terrorism. Being President is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a gift. I just wish more Presidents would take the office as seriously as some of our founding Fathers did during their reign.