smokerblog

Betting on the Flop

President George Bush gave a stirring speech last night, probably the best speech of his career. He's certainly gotten more comfortable speaking from the podium in the past four years, and you could see that especially in the second half of the speech. More than anything else he's said or done during his first term, this speech has helped me learn to like George Bush as a person.

But there was nothing in the speech that made me want to vote for him. His speech focussed on his leadership ability as he appealed to voters to trust his decisions for another four years. In one of his most powerful lines he said, "You know what I believe and where I stand." That got a huge cheer from the party faithful, but when you actually read the text of his speech it's hard to see exactly what he does stand for.

He appeals to the Republican values of fiscal responsibility and takes great pride in his willingness to cut taxes, but he sweeps the other half of the equation under the carpet. He has taken no action in the last four years to reign in spending and has built up a record deficit that even conservatives attack as unsustainable. In his speech, the President ticked off a list of social programs for education, health care, and job growth, but offered no plan for paying for any of these programs.

He claims to have led a broad international coalition against the War on Terror, and did indeed provide an impressive list of allies; however, in reality, the US provides a vast majority of the troops on the ground in Iraq. Meanwhile, this prolonged war has distracted attention and diverted resources from resurgent terrorists in Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, and the need for protection at home.

In his 2000 convention speech, George Bush appealed to values of compassionate conservatism, respect for our allies, and a refusal to engage in nation building. Sure, 9/11 changed the political landscape, but in the first 8 months of his presidency, he had already turned his back on two of these three ideals. The question for the American voter is whether we should judge him by his promises or his past actions.

It's not so much that Bush flip-flops. He just claims to be a flipper when he's really a flopper.