BB, you are a pompous ass.

I do not hate George W. Bush. Nor do I belong to any kind of anti-Bush cult. And for you to suggest that anyone who disagrees with you must belong to such more than amply displays your desperation to be taken seriously. And that goes for the frantic verbal tap-dancing that Teribus is doing as well. You guys are trying to resurrect an insignificant bug (Bush) who didn't have sense enough to avoid getting splattered on the windshield of the Judgment of History.

During the first few times I saw him on television as he began his bid for the presidency, I had him spotted as a little man of minuscule talent and indifferent intellect who was aspiring to a job for which he had no skills. I was not all that happy with Gore, but when it came to intelligence, skill, and experience, he had Bush so far outclassed that it was verging on the silly! The fact that Gore won the popular vote, but was edged out by election hanky-panky in Florida and the decision of a conservative-leaning Supreme Court was bad enough, but what amazed me was that the popular vote margin was close enough to allow that to happen. What the hell were those people thinking!?? Not thinking at all, really. And then, he gets re-elected? Thomas Jefferson said that the preservation of the democracy depends on an informed electorate. And the United Stated seems to have an electorate that is more interesting in the latest doings of Paris Hilton's Chihuahua than it is in picking someone competent to run the country.

Do I hate Bush? No. Any idiot with the filing fee and sufficent backing can run for president. You can't blame them for trying, and we have a few who are giving it a shot right now. But I would like to give about half of the American electorate a mighty dope-slap and see if I can get them to take politics a little more seriously than they take Britney Spears' belly button.

I was on the verge of cataloging the list of stupid and ill-advised decisions that Bush and his cabal have made, but I don't have that kind of time to rehash what everyone, save those who have opted to remain blind, knows full well. In less than seven years, he's all but bankrupted the country (having started his presidency with the biggest surplus in decades) and for completely spurious reasons, has dig the country into a quagmire that more than rivals the Vietnam debacle and may take several future administrations to dig us out of.

One seriously wonders about the future of the country. As some acute observer once said, "When small men cast long shadows, it means the sun is setting." And George W. Bush is a small man.

Considering the loss of both integrity and prestige this country has suffered within recent years (believe me, the United States is no longer regarded by most of the world as "the shining city on the hill."), we can no longer claim to be the leader of the free world. We have exploited and oppressed too many other peoples to be able to sustain that claim. We are no longer and example of freedom and prosperity to the world, we are the playground bully, beating up on the other kids and stealing their lunch money (almost literally!).

Bush has had a number of predecessors in bringing this about. But he is the most obvious and egregious of the bunch.

I don't hate Bush. I wish him no ill. In fact, I am not enthusiastic about impeaching him or trying him for war crimes—although I'm sure strong cases can be made. I wish him a happy retirement from politics, to spend his days in Crawford, Texas, clearing brush, which he seems to enjoy, or dishing out the steaks at a good ol' Texas barbecue, which the late Molly Ivins has said he is very good at. "He's fun at a party," she went on to say.

But, for God's sake, let's get somebody who is intelligent, competent, and has integrity and a sense of ethics in as president in 2008. We have done without such for far too long!

Don Firth