y U b HAtin?

Why are so many liberals so full of hate for President Bush? Browse some left leaning blogs and you can't help but be struck by the anger and deep hatred that pour forth in the form of vicious insults and demeaning editorial. Why is that? I was certainly not a big fan of, for example, Jimmy Carter. I thought he was a little wishy-washy; much too weak for my taste on defense and foreign affairs and performed terribly under pressure. But, I didn't hate him! Like all of us he had his strengths and his weaknesses. He had a lot of horse sense and could keep a lot of plates spinning. He was and is a deep thinker, introspective and brutally honest with himself and with us. He believes what he believes whether you agree with him or not. I admire that.

Bill Clinton was another president that I very seldom agreed with politically. I think he governed by whatever he perceived to be popular opinion at any given time. Further, I have little or no respect for him as a man, as a (self-proclaimed) Christian, or as a husband and father. Let's just say I see him as "morally challenged". However, having said all that, I didn't hate him! He was and is a brilliant man in many ways, very likeable and very charismatic.

The bottom line here is that these men were our presidents, arguably the most powerful men in the world during their time. They deserved my respect for the office they held if not for their achievements and more often than not they got it. I will admit that sometimes during the Clinton years I did have to bite my tongue. At the very, very least any president deserves the respect that you would give to any other human being but many on the left can't even seem to conjure up that. What about all that talk about tolerance? How can these people expect to be taken seriously if the underlying premise of any political, economic or social argument is that Bush is stupid and they hate him? For all his failings, this man is our president. He didn't get there just because of his family money, Rockefeller never achieved the presidency. It couldn't have been "Big Oil", how would President Carter have been elected? If the religious right was so powerful Bill Clinton would have never had a second term. Sure good old George struggled in school but he wasn't attending State U. either. Sure he has some skeletons in his closet. So do I, don't you?

The things I like most about Bush are the qualities we all say we want in a political leader but are the same ones most ridiculed by the left. He is real. He isn't an over polished politician with an rehearsed answer at the ready for every question posed. When he is asked a question, he actually answers it; if he doesn't know, he says he doesn't know. He talks like a normal person (read: not in circles). The fact that he isn't a Mensa candidate doesn't worry me because, ala Reagan, he has the common sense and managerial skills to hire good people and let them do their job. Most of all, I like that he has the courage of his convictions. He is willing to stand up for what is right regardless of the political fallout. I've gotta believe that even if I didn't agree with Bush most of the time I could still see, acknowlege and respect his positive qualities. Why can't the tolerant, politically correct liberals?