Saturday, November 11, 2006

 

Sound Advice for Our President

Laer at Cheat Seeking Missiles has a posting that offers some very sound, specific advice to President Bush over the next few weeks, indeed until January, 2009. Money quote:

So an agenda for Bush:

Fight like Hell for Bolton, even though you'll get nowhere ... except to show the Dems to be flagrantly overprotective of the UN.

Push more and more conservative judges up for nomination and make the Dem leadership beat you down. Get the GOP base mad at the Dems, not you.

Demand border security first, then a guest worker program. The Dem win is not an excuse for you to join hands with Nan & Harry and skip into an immigration meltdown.

Demand that the Dems put realistic cost/benefit analysis to the Pelosi propaganda of adopting all the provisions of the 9/11 Commission. Veto the bill if it's not sound.

Do not, do not, do not, do not withdraw from Iraq. Put your fist down firmly on the Iraqi government about stopping the death squads, re-assign most of our troops to train Iraqi police and military and make the Iraqis take the lead on protecting their country, and dying for it.

That just might allow you to exit the White House in 2008 with your head held high, Mr. President, knowing you dealt with all manner of adversity honorably, intelligently and with the nation's best interests in mind.

I couldn't agree more.

Comments:
Those other issues aside, isn't the guest worker program a bad idea? It creates Second class citizens and is really stupid. Last I remember you agreed with me on this point too. Am I wrong?
 
Guest worker systems in Europe have been called a bad idea by each of the governments that used them in the 70s and 80s. I don't mind the second class citizen part as the guest workers should not be considered citizens of any sort. The real problem is that they don't go home. So you are not wrong, I do agree that such programs are still a bad idea.
 
Some interesting issues which frame the central question of whether the president's political machine can play defense, as it were.

One problem is that the president always thinks he has the nation's best in mind. In my opinion, he has been wrong as often as he has been right.

Quite frankly, I still can't figure out why Karl Rove didn't have a better strategy leading up to last Tuesday. I suspect the decision to can Donald Rumsfeld was only made in the past few weeks. Had that decsion been made in a more timely fashion, i.e. sooner, I believe that the GOP would have won more house seats and maintained control of the Senate.

Border security seems to be a good idea. It is also a political football and requires such a massive infusion of resources, human, technolological, and other, that I doubt it will be accomplished. I don't think a 700 mile fence is going to be successful. Fences can be climbed tunneled under, or cut and I seem to recall 30 or so years ago didn't some brave Germans escape the Eats in a hot air balloon?

Of course we must make the Iraqis responsible for their own security.
I question, however, whether the Iraqi government has the political will ti implement any solution. We must find some other solution that does not involve withdrawal until we are invited to leave.
 
We can deal with the number of mexicans equal to the East Germans tunnelling under, cutting through or hot air ballooning over the border. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I'm beginning to despair about the Iraqi government. Yugoslavia disintegrated after Tito's death and I believe no one profited. Same with the former jewell of the Middle East, Lebanon. It's so difficult to believe that intelligent people can choose to regress to savagry, despite the evidence to the contrary. Thanks for the comment
 
Rog,

Perhaps it isn't the intelligent people regressing to savagery but the the savages, who, no longer suppressed, are reverting to type. Isn't that what happened in the former Yugloslavia?

T
 
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