No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

What is wrong with Bush?

Kevin Drum has the best advice for Democrats that I have seen so far.

OK, I will. On this specific subject, I think that Democrats simply need to be very clear that they don't want to see us withdraw from Iraq, but that they do think foreign policy should be run by someone with a track record of good judgment. Say plainly that you want us to win this war and stamp out terrorism, but that Bush has shown that he's just not up to the job.

More generally, a significant part of any successful Democratic attack on Bush has to go straight to the subject of judgment and competence. It would look something like this, I think:


He said his tax cuts would create jobs. They didn't.


He said his stem cell plan would allow research on debilitating illnesses like Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease to proceed. He was wrong.


He said he would find Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. He failed.


He said Saddam Hussein had WMDs that posed an imminent threat to the security of the United States. It wasn't true.


He said the Iraqis would greet us a liberators and laughed at the army when they said we'd need several hundred thousand troops to occupy Iraq. The army was right, he was wrong.


You can add your own favorites, but you get the idea. The message ought to be that even if you agree with Bush's goals, he's demonstrated over and over that his policies won't get us there. So instead of reelecting a guy who keeps making mistakes and trying to clean up after them, let's elect someone who can get the job done on the first try.

Karl Rove and his minions are masters at making anyone who questions Bush look as though they are the enemies of America. Yet there is almost nothing that the Bush administration has done that is a positive action for America. Bush's repeated failures and lack of significant success need to be strongly emphasized.

At the same time, any democratic candidate for President will have to present his own positive vision for America.

Considering the fact that almost everything the conservatives have to offer is how government can't do anything, that shouldn't be all that difficult. There is a great deal more to America than mere corporate greed.

posted by Richard at 10:40 PM