Presidential politics

Hello again!

The President of the United States is the most powerful office in the world. It is, easily I think, also the most misunderstood. People tend to give the President credit where credit is not due, and, more importantly, tend to affix blame where none is warranted or earned. This is where most Presidents fail - the battle of public perception.

Bill Clinton was, in the minds of most people, a successful president. Were his policies responsible for the successes of his administration? I doubt it. Most would give credit for his successes to the policies of previous administrations, the Ronald Reagan administrations for the most part. He was just smart enough to leave it alone and take all the credit. The failures or successes of the Bush administration can be left on Clinton's door as well. Have we fought a battle on terror for the last 6 years because of Bush? No. Clinton had Bin Laden in the palm of his hand, and he let him go. Those chickens came home to roost on 911, and we've been paying the price in the blood of Americans every since. Is Iraq as important to the war on terror as the Bush adminstration says? That will remain to be answered by the subsequent adminstration. If we pull out of Iraq before the Iraqis are prepared to run their own country and the forces of militant Islam take over, Iraq was an abject failure. If we ARE able to intall a government that is friendly to America and play that chess peace in the broiling board that is the Middle East, then I'd say Iraq was a success. A stable, America friendly Iraq is a valuable peace in that game. If we can make it so, it is an object much to be wished for.

So, what's to come? A Democrat administration, doing what Democrats do best, will poll the public and find out that Americans are against the war in Iraq. They will pull our forces out prematurely, and all of those lives given will have been lost in vain. Hopefully, a Republican administration will be more cautious, understand exactly what is at stake, and remove troops at a slower pace. Troops will be removed, one way or the other. The outcome depends upon how quickly they are removed and how good a job we do preparing Iraquis to take over the reigns when we do leave.

I have a feeling that Americans, understanding little other than what happens between their thigh and mid-chest, will insist upon a Democrat. Hopefully, that Democrat is someone with a brain in his head and not a pollster who seeks power for power's sake, like HRC. I wouldn't be surprised if it is Hillary, but I would lose a lot of faith in the collective intellect of the American public if that power-monger ever becomes President. Who's to say that she's smart enough to leave it alone and take the credit for the former adminstration's efforts like her husband did.