UNfair and UNbalanced
By Ari Kaufman (02/11/06)
The following piece is a compilation of three letters to the editor I wrote to the Washington Post late in 2005 while I was still a resident of the area. Not at all to my surprise, they did not publish any of them, but other papers did.
(September 9, 2005)
Any disaster that occurs in our country nowadays has people pointing fingers of blame at President Bush. However, the facts continuously e! xonerate Bush from the incessant criticisms levied upon him by a vast array of "pundits" for the various issues currently in the news.
Before Katrina hit, had the local politicians obeyed the evacuation order, there would have been very few people to rescue. We later saw this during Hurricane Rita.
Had Mayor Nagin ordered people in New Orleans to man buses, those without transportation would have at least! been able to take utilize the buses found sitting in the storage yard.
There are further parallels in Iraq. Had Saddam done what the international community had sought, war would never have transpired. These are simple cause and effect relationships, ignored by those, especially in the media, who a have myopic disdain for our President.
Bush will seemingly always be found guilty in the (anti-Bush) public eye. Clinton never had it this bad.
(September 16, 2005)
The Washington Post has shown me, in my nearly three weeks here, that they are far less trustworthy as an objective source of news, and far more partisan and fraudulent in passing on Op-ed hack jobs against our President as News stories, than even the "venerable" NY Times. Friday's slam at Bush was front and center for all of our Nation's Capital to see. It was called an "analysis," but author Dan Balz is analyzing nothing and simply spewing his anti-Bush views.
President Bush's five year tenure as President serves as one of the most tumultuous in history. Most of the major issues that have arisen (9/11, Hurricane Katrina, deaths and resignations of Supreme Court justices) are unparalleled in recent history. However, the media, academics and half of Americans seem to ignore these facts, in order to make it easier to criticize every right or wrong decision the Presiden! t makes. Whatever Bush does will not please his legion of critics across the nation and the world.
Part of the reason that the clean-up and regrouping after 9/11 was so successful was due to the local and state leadership in New York, as well as the bonding together of both political factions of this country. Regrettably, politics did not become bi-partisan in the aftermath of Katrina. The blame game has begun, as networks and writers avoid the positive displays of support from our country in order to pass critical judgment on the President. Rarely is anything insidious written about the polarizing mayor of New Orleans nor their incompetent governor.
Our rebuilding and reclamation of the Gulf Coast will be further delayed until the left wing of our country releases itself from this fallacious Michael Moore/Cindy Sheehan rage against our President and our nation. George Bush didn't cause the hurricane, and he can't run for President in 2008. The Democrats should prepare their next candidate; and also, in the meantime, prepare to be of assistance like in 2001, rather than a hindrance.
They could start by showing some maturity and confirming Judge John Roberts.
(September 21, 2005)
Watching the coverage of the John Roberts confirmation hearings, seeing the Democrats scramble in a last-ditch effort to trick this genius is utterly laughable. Judge Roberts may the most-qualified person in the world to become the next Chief Justice. He's young, brilliant, patient, has a pleasant demeanor and is as moderate and open-minded as you will find.
George Bush and The Bush Administration should be commended for his selection. Bush can nominate whomever he wants - and he will also do so to replace Sandra Day O'Connor - but as a Republican president he is going to nominate someone slightly Right of center. Why wo! uldn't he? And Roberts is ever so slightly Right. It's a perfectly fair compromise. Bush and his advisors should be lauded, not chastised.
Roberts should wind up getting into the 90s as far as "yes" votes, but likely will hit the upper 70s, low 80s. If this were 1991, he'd get 100. Can you imagine the Clarence Thomas hearings with today's partisanship? The Thomas Nomination would never have gone through in 2005.
Bottom line for folks of my generation: this is not your older brother's bi-partisan political era.
I understand that, and I'm an only child.
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