January 20, 2009: The End of an Error

Hopefully this blog will live on long after I am dead. This entry will deal with the two most important American political events certainly in my lifetime, and arguably in the history of the Republic: The disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, which is mercifully coming to an end after eight excruciatingly long years, and the upcoming inauguration of Barack H. Obama. Unlike a Bill Clinton or Fidel Castro speech, this will be brief.

1. The 'election' of George W. Bush in 2000 was fraudulent. It was a travesty of justice, a mistake, undemocratic. HE SHOULD HAVE NEVER INHABITED THE OVAL OFFICE, HIS WHOLE PRESIDENCY WAS ILLEGITIMATELY CONCEIVED. Even if we discount everything that happened in Florida, the tainted votes, the questionable recounts, the partisanship (his brother Jeb was governor of the state, for God's sake), the fact that thousands of Democrats in south Florida accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan of all people....If we take the tremendous leap of logic and sheer common sense and get by all that, the fact remains that AL GORE GOT OVER 500,000 MORE VOTES THAN BUSH IN 2000! If it weren't for the weird, patently undemocratic, vestigial remnant of the country's forefather's monarchical background also known as the electoral college, then the nightmare presidency of George W. Bush would never have happened. If justice had taken place, it would have never have happened.
2. In what can only be described as a moment of mass insanity among tens of millions of American voters, this illegitimate president was legitimately elected in 2004. This can only be likened to other historical acts of mass insanity such as the Jonestown massacre in Africa in the 70's, and the fact that Adolf Hitler won many elections in Germany in the 1930's. These comparisons may seem harsh, but they are accurate in the sense that droves of normally rational people can be tricked into doing irrational things by a combination of fear (9/11), propaganda (Karl Rove), and, crucially, weak opposition (John Kerry).
3. George W. Bush has been the worst president in American history. Starting with the decision to unilaterally withdraw from nuclear missile treaties with Russia early on in his term, and finishing now, in real time, with his complete disengagement and ability to do or say anything with regards to Palestine being on fire, the Bush foreign policy has been a complete, unmitigated catastrophe. It has literally set America back centuries. Complete with 'preventive invasions' (Iraq) and STATE SPONSORED AMERICAN TORTURE, it almost seems like a bad dream. This despot has the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians on his hands.
4. As shit awful as his foreign policy has been; his domestic policy, amazingly, has been even worse. He started off his term by passing massive tax cuts for American millionaires, and then became one of the first 'leaders' of any nation in world history to push another massive tax cut before launching a war. As an ideological, right wing simpleton puppeteer ed by others far smarter and devious than he, Bush continually pushed for greater financial deregulation, and memorably called for Americans in the aftermath of 9/11 to 'go shopping'. As he leaves office, he leaves a nation in economic ruins: shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month, mired in the worst recession in a generation, and arguably headed for a depression. His handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was completely, utterly inept, causing hundreds of citizens to perish in New Orleans. Well done, 43.

Alas, though, this coming Tuesday's momentous occasion would never, ever have been possible without the destruction of the past eight long years. A thoroughly disgusted, reeling, American public voted for the anti-Bush in Barack Obama. The beauty of our Democracy means consistent change, no matter what, with our leadership. America has made big mistakes recently, but now the world is poised to give the dream another chance. Hope reigns. Welcome, President Obama. Long live the Republic. The dream lives.