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 This election is a referendum on the Bush Presidency, not the Kerry Presidency. We can?t be absolutely sure what a Kerry term will feel like but we definitely know what a George W. Bush term feels like.

I have heard many commentators ask the Kerry Campaign why can?t Kerry close the deal with the American people. I would answer this simply. The last four years have been so disastrous it is hard to believe the events are actually true and also, many are still comforted by the 90?s boom. But many people faced only by a sense of danger, rather than a conscious understanding, feel caught like a deer in headlights and afraid of change. As a people we must shake ourselves to reality and act.

George W. Bush described himself as a compassionate conservative and a uniter during the 2000 election. However, here?s what we have learned about George W. Bush.

Is he a Conservative?

• The Budget deficit is huge.

• Government spending has grown significantly even disregarding Defense and Homeland Security.

• His foreign policy is reckless, not conservative.

• The Federal Government is larger not smaller. Bush has added back all the Federal Employees that were reduced under the Clinton Administration.

• Pork barrel spending has grown significantly.

• His prescription drug program is very costly and a huge windfall for the pharmaceutical industry.

• He has continuously meddled in state and local controls.

Is he compassionate?

• He has significantly rolled back environmental regulations that protect the American people.

• His no child left behind program has diverted the public education from focusing on learning to "test-taking" thus handicapping children and education for years.

• He did not extend unemployment benefits when most needed.

• He had the power to protect the people of California and other Western states from price gauging by Enron and others during the manipulated electricity shortage, yet he did not do so.

Is he a uniter?

• This is the most that the US and the world have been divided in the last 60 years.

• His opponents don?t just dislike his policies or disagree with him but loathe him personally.

• At no point in recent history, has a U.S. president been so hated both at home and world-wide.

Is he a strong leader?

• He continuously blames subordinates for failings in his administration and seldom personally takes responsibility. He then holds very few people accountable who have really made mistakes.

• Individual cabinet officers run their departments without consistent direction from the President.

• His personal reactions after 9-11 are very telling about Bush?s character. Bush blames the Secret Service for not returning to Washington DC immediately and detouring Air Force One from Florida to Louisiana and Nebraska. Any young Military Officer would have taken charge and entered the cockpit of Air Force One and said "turn this plane for home".

Has he restored dignity to the Presidency?

• Dignity was not brought back to the White House. The president and his administration have continuously said one thing and done another.

I cannot list a single accomplishment for this administration. But I can list many failures. Here are just a few:

1. The United States has replaced the Soviet Union as the greatest threat to world peace in the eyes of most of the non-Muslim world.

2. Even after being given extraordinary powers, the Justice Department has failed to prosecute any terrorists.

3. Poor planning and miscalculations in Iraq will take billions of dollars, many lives, and years to correct.

4. The Federal Drug Administration failed to heed warnings for over a year of a pending flu vaccine shortage.

5. Money was taken from the Social Security trust fund to give tax cuts that had little effect on reviving the economy.

6. America is now more dependent on foreign oil than ever before.

7. Twenty-five years of hard work to regenerate the American military and its spirit after the experience in Vietnam is being dismantled before our very eyes in Iraq.

8. Government is more secretive. Ex-Presidential papers (as well as the papers from Bush's term as governor of Texas) have been locked away for years by new regulations. All levels of government have been encouraged to not comply with the Freedom of Information Act when possible.

9. Our society has become less tolerant, more greedy, less truthful, and more fearful.

Some reliable studies suggest that the American people have entered a period of economic and social suffering. Like President Hoover in 1932, President Bush tells us things are getting better and prosperity is right around the corner. If these parallels prove even partially true, our suffering could be long, deep, and devastating.

Even disregarding these studies, the warning signs are there. They include record budget deficits, the threat of global war, unsustainable high trade deficits, potential long-term high energy prices, sluggish job growth, a sharp drop in the value of the dollar, and many workers nearing retirement.

Many economists argue that if these trends continue, our grandchildren will pay the price. I would argue that it will be much sooner than later. Because of our increasing dependence on Global consumerism and the ease in moving money and assets, it will only take a small intensification of growing Anti-American sentiment and further loss of global confidence in the dollar to tip the balance.

I view the Bush Administration by far as the most incompetent in modern American history.

Even though we may not have any proof that the Kerry administration will live up to its promises and do better than the Bush administration, we must take that chance. We must change the direction in which this country is going and trust that a Kerry Presidency can begin to heal a severely damaged national personality.

About the Author

bobby jennings is co-publisher of InnerSelf Publications and webmaster of InnerSelf.com. Originally a Democrat for many years, he moved to the Republican party in the mid 1980's. He now supports common sense initiatives from all parties, but is a registered Green. He is an ex Army officer and retired small business owner. He was born, raised, and educated in the "Old South".

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