Sassan Sheikholeslami
Engl 105H
Position Arg
Not the Man for the Job
The President of The United States wields tremendous power. The
President is the chief executive officer of the federal government, leader of the
executive branch, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The person that
holds this office must be extremely well qualified as our country’s well-being
depends upon it. As the election looms upon the horizon it is worthwhile for us
to examine the candidates in detail. This paper focuses on the Republican
candidate George W. Bush and his ability to run our country effectively. This
paper will evaluate his past leadership experience, his personal success and
integrity, his intellectual abilities, and his stance on some policy issues of
significance. An in depth look into all of these matters has led to the conclusion
that George W. Bush would be a bad president.
Many of Bush’s supporters claim that he is a good fundraiser, which is
true. He has raised over eighty two million dollars thus far. This kind of
gargantuan fundraising is no easy feat, even for a candidate backed by big
business. It is a shame that his wizardly fundraising skills don’t carry over into
his economic leadership.
Many Bush proponents say that he was successful in his business
transactions, so he would be good at guiding our country’s economy. This view
is wrong for two reasons, first being a successful entrepreneur and running a
country are very different. One involves recognizing opportunity and good
negotiation skills, while the other involves understanding economies of scale and
long term effects. Secondly, Bush wasn’t even a very good businessman; he
made most of his fortune through shady deals like the one explained by Eric
Alterman…
“Bush initially borrowed $600,000 from a bank where he had been a
director, to cover his 1.8 percent interest in the team. At the behest of Bush
and his fellow investors, state authorities created the Arlington Sports
Facilities Development Authority, which was given the power to
expropriate some private land to build the team a new stadium. When
some of the homeowners and farmers refused to sell for the low prices
being offered, the Authority condemned their land and expropriated it by
force of law. It did this with 270 acres of land, even though only about 17
acres were needed for the ballpark. The rest was used for commercial
development that made Bush and his friends rich.” (Alterman, 2000)
How can we trust a man who was willing to the allow the homes of
dozens of his fellow citizens to be destroyed so that he could make a few million
bucks? This lack of good judgment displayed by Bush is also apparent in his
Governorship of Texas.
The only concrete information we know of Bush’s leadership skills are
from his experience as Governor of Texas. During those years as Governor Bush,
“presided over a steady worsening of the environment and intervened to
prevent the state from participating in the CHIP program for children
without health care, simultaneously offering generous tax breaks to the
wealthy and the oil and gas industry.” (Alterman, 2000)
We simply cannot vote for a man who doesn’t act to protect the interests
of children in our society, for they are the future. Nor a man who takes large
campaign contributions from oil and gas companies and grants them tax
loopholes in return. Finally, the worst thing about Bush’s platform has got to be
his outlook on environmental issues.
As previously quoted from Alterman, Bush led Texas to among the worst
in then nation in regards to pollution. According the latest report from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
“Global warming is a real problem, and it is with us and we are going to
have to take this into account in our future planning, the latest assessment
reinforces the mainstream scientific consensus about global warming. Its
new estimates of warming poses a risk of devastating consequences
within this century.” ( Hebert, 2000).
If the human race is going to thrive into the next century we shall need
leaders who push for viable options now. Bush, on the other hand, “urges a
cautious approach and believes the science still needs to be proven” (Hebert,
2000). Bush would most definitely continue to support the large oil companies
who, besides adding large donations to his campaign coffers, are the single
biggest cause of global warming. As one expert in climatology puts it,
“Key countries must start demonstrating real political leadership if we are
to ensure that strong and effective action is launched to control
greenhouse gas emissions,” he stated. “The longer we wait to make the
transition to low-emissions economies, the greater the damage from
climate change will be.” ( Hebert, 2000)
Another important part of a presidential candidate is his/her intellectual
abilities. A president should be knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects in
order to make sound judgments. Throughout the presidential debates Bush
proved his incompetence by demonstrating lack of basic knowledge in subjects
from affirmative action to his own proposed plan for the budgetary surplus.
According to Michael Kingsley…
“But if George W. Bush isn't a moron, he is a man of impressive
intellectual dishonesty and/or confusion. His utterances frequently make
no sense in their own terms. His policy recommendations are often
internally inconsistent and mutually contradictory.” (Kingsley, 2000)
Bush’s lack of knowledge is also accompanied by a lack of personal
integrity. He has made numerous claims, in and out of the debates, that bend the
facts to make him look good. In one case Bush bragged,
“I brought Republicans and Democrats together to do just that in the state
of Texas to get a patients bill of rights” that included the right to sue the
insurance companies that are supporting his candidacy, he was engaging
in a deliberate deception on an issue of considerable import. In fact, Bush
fought tooth-and-nail in 1995 against allowing Texans the right to sue
their HMOs. When faced with a veto-proof majority two years later, he let
it pass without the governor’s signature” (Alterman, 2000). I think we
can agree that this kind of behavior is unacceptable for a person who
would potentially hold the highest office in the land.
As voting citizens of this great country we have the power to shape our
future. We must use our ballots wisely. The president we vote for must be
honest, intelligent, and have a great amount of personal integrity. As the
problems created by global warming are quickly coming upon us, our next
President must be ready to take immediate action. George W. Bush is the
antithesis of an ideal presidential candidate. I think we can agree that our
country would have a horrendous start for the new century under his
incompetent leadership. As almost all of the other major candidates would do a
better job than Bush, I recommend researching Al Gore, John Hagelin, Ralph
Nader, or any of the other candidates, and voting for the one that best emulates
your views.
Works Cited
Alterman, Eric. “The Scandal No One Cares About”. Oct 16, 2000
<www.msnbc.com/news4777199.sap?0nm=V1CP.>
Hebert, Josef. “Climate Experts Raise the Stakes”. Oct 25, 2000
<www.msnbc.com/news/481170.asp?0nm=O128. >
Kingsley, Michael. “The Stupidity Issue”. The Washington Post. Oct 24,
2000
<www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64-
2000Oct23?language=printer.>