Before presenting my defense of President Bush let me share my thoughts on the job he is doing. I believe he is a horrible President. He has taken an already divided nation and has not only further divided it, but has deepened that division. I wonder if there was ever a time in our nation's history where there was so much animosity between the right and left. He has displayed no ability to bring unity to our country. Contrary to his campaign statement, President Bush is a divider not a uniter. His fiscal management has been completely irresponsible. With over a year to go President Bush has already added over three trillion dollars to our national debt. When he took office our national debt was 5.7 trillion and is now over 9 trillion dollars. He has probably added more debt than any President in our history.

President Bush displays little if any characteristics of a leader. He has run our country like a spoiled child. When he doesn't get his way or people disagree with him Mr. Bush responds with insults and derogatory comments. A true leader brings people around to his way of thinking without doing these things. It is impossible to lead people when you are busy hurling insults at them. President Bush has done nothing to solve any of our nation's problems, and it could be said that he has added to them. President Bush hasn't even done a good job of managing our problems. It is under his watch that our problems are now becoming unmanageable. This President has shown no vision or imagination, which are characteristics of a true leader.

I am very angry about his failure in Afghanistan. This was an opportunity to send a clear message to the world. President Bush should have went in with overwhelming force, locked down that country until every terrorist and Taliban leader was captured or killed. Once that was complete we should have let the United Nations set up the new government. This would have shown other terrorists who might attack us that they will be hunted down, it would have shown the countries who support terrorists that attack us that they will be completely dismantled, and we could have shown the world we are not into nation building. Instead, we still haven't caught the terrorists responsible for 9/11, the Taliban is regrouping, and because we went into Iraq we look like nation builders trying to impose our will. There was much world unity and support for our retaliation against Afghanistan, but President Bush took it and has created more division.

I could certainly go on, but the bottom line is that President Bush has not done his job as our leader. In his defense I ask, how many of us have done our job as American citizens? President Bush seems intent on implementing his ideology, but I see many people trying to do the same thing. Many others pursue their own selfish wants. All of this leaving us short of even being a good citizen. Very few can honestly say they have put the interests of their country before their own self-interest; these are the people who would be the first ones to say they could do more. I don't put myself in that category, but I am willing to say I could do more. In an honest self-evaluation I must admit, I have not been a good citizen. Most of my life I have put my wants before the needs of my country. I believe a majority of us have done this, otherwise our country would not be in such an awful state. President Bush has brought us to a point where we must all ask ourselves—have I been a good citizen, have I put the needs of my country before my wants, and can I do more?