Dear Mr. President
Dear Mr. President,
When you were elected to the office of the presidency in November of 2000, I was basically indifferent. At the time I was a high school senior with more important things on my mind: graduation, prospective colleges, optimistic dreams of an uncertain and potentially exciting future. To me, the presidential election was a mere inconvenience; something that would occasionally preempt my favorite shows.
When you stood at ground zero on September 11, 2001, I became a believer in your words, your messages and your promises. I realized that indifference was not an option in such uncertain times, and I became overwhelmed with inspiration as you spent the next several weeks decrying the evils of terrorism and proclaiming the steadfastness of the American people when faced with adversity. As I remember, your approval rating was through the roof, and no one approved of your job performance more than myself.
What went wrong, Mr. President?
When you began presenting The United Nations and the American public with intelligence information regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, you assured us all that you wanted to resolve the matter peacefully with the cooperation of Saddam Hussein. I had a feeling even then that you were setting wheels into motion for an inevitable armed conflict with Iraq, but I continued to support you. Surely the government knows more about these things than the likes of me. I defended you even as the body count continued to rise, long after your infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner made international headlines.
When you began proposing a federal constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriages once and for all, I personally felt that such a measure was repressive, ill-advised and irresponsible, but I continued to support you. 'After all,' I reasoned with myself, 'nobody agrees with their leaders on every issue.' So I consciously looked the other way on those matters on which you and I disagree: gay marriage, abstinence education, abortion and so many aspects of your foreign policy, among other things.
I even looked the other way as your administration and inner-circle began to crumble. Perhaps some like Colin Powell were just smart enough to cut their losses and leave with dignity, but others like Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Scooter Libby and arguably the worst wartime Secretary of Defense in American History (I'm referring of course to Donald Rumsfeld, although Robert Gates hasn't proven much better) have systematically dismantled any credibility that still remained in our Executive Branch of government.
And now Iraq is a complete mess with no signs of real improvement, our economy is spiraling toward a recession, the international community has understandably turned its back on us and our own nation is more divided than it has been since The Civil War. What is truly amazing is that you managed to accomplish all of this in less than eight years. I am sorry, Mr. President, but I have run out of excuses to defend you. I believed in you, and you let me down. You let us all down.
Dear Mr. President,
When you were elected to the office of the presidency in November of 2000, I was basically indifferent. At the time I was a high school senior with more important things on my mind: graduation, prospective colleges, optimistic dreams of an uncertain and potentially exciting future. To me, the presidential election was a mere inconvenience; something that would occasionally preempt my favorite shows.
When you stood at ground zero on September 11, 2001, I became a believer in your words, your messages and your promises. I realized that indifference was not an option in such uncertain times, and I became overwhelmed with inspiration as you spent the next several weeks decrying the evils of terrorism and proclaiming the steadfastness of the American people when faced with adversity. As I remember, your approval rating was through the roof, and no one approved of your job performance more than myself.
What went wrong, Mr. President?
When you began presenting The United Nations and the American public with intelligence information regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, you assured us all that you wanted to resolve the matter peacefully with the cooperation of Saddam Hussein. I had a feeling even then that you were setting wheels into motion for an inevitable armed conflict with Iraq, but I continued to support you. Surely the government knows more about these things than the likes of me. I defended you even as the body count continued to rise, long after your infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner made international headlines.
When you began proposing a federal constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriages once and for all, I personally felt that such a measure was repressive, ill-advised and irresponsible, but I continued to support you. 'After all,' I reasoned with myself, 'nobody agrees with their leaders on every issue.' So I consciously looked the other way on those matters on which you and I disagree: gay marriage, abstinence education, abortion and so many aspects of your foreign policy, among other things.
I even looked the other way as your administration and inner-circle began to crumble. Perhaps some like Colin Powell were just smart enough to cut their losses and leave with dignity, but others like Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Scooter Libby and arguably the worst wartime Secretary of Defense in American History (I'm referring of course to Donald Rumsfeld, although Robert Gates hasn't proven much better) have systematically dismantled any credibility that still remained in our Executive Branch of government.
And now Iraq is a complete mess with no signs of real improvement, our economy is spiraling toward a recession, the international community has understandably turned its back on us and our own nation is more divided than it has been since The Civil War. What is truly amazing is that you managed to accomplish all of this in less than eight years. I am sorry, Mr. President, but I have run out of excuses to defend you. I believed in you, and you let me down. You let us all down.
posted by Kris Avalon at
8:15 PM
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