Gw Bush Less Than Six

GW Bush

Less than six months into his second administration, it is clear that President Bush remains dedicated to deluded political decision-making. His bold nomination of John Bolton for the esteemed position of ambassador to the United Nations is yet another notch in Bush's deplorable record, as is his blank dismissal of the dangers of global climate change. George Walker Bush has become one of the most controversial American presidents in recent history, beginning with the 2000 elections in which Al Gore clearly won the popular vote. Remarkably, in spite of his poor domestic and foreign policy record during his first term, Bush was reelected with a clear mandate in 2004. Any objective peek at Bush's foreign and domestic policies will reveal that the president of the United States is an unfit leader. Regarding the bloody war in Iraq, James Dobbins of Foreign Affairs bluntly states, "The second administration of George W. Bush seems to be left with the choice between making things worse slowly or quickly." The international community continues to shake its head at the sorry state of affairs in the Middle East, but the Bush administration remains eager to invade other nations. President Bush has also been overtly religious in his public conversations and refers to God frequently in his addresses and speeches. Consequently, the president has created the faith-based initiative, which threatens to undermine the separation between matters of church and state. Another key reason why President Bush scores below-average marks as President is related to his No Child Left Behind Act. The Act purports to improve the standards of American public schools, but some experts say that it places "impossible logistical and financial burdens on school systems," (Donlevy). George W. Bush's weak war in Iraq, frightening faith-based initiative, and nonsensical No Child Behind Act prove that the President has done and continues to do a lousy job leading a nation.

The war in Iraq has proved unpopular, costly, bloody, and fought on false premises. If nothing else destroyed the President's reputation, the situation in Iraq would be enough to show that George W. Bush is an inept as well as dishonest leader. There are three main reasons why the war in Iraq was a mistake. First, the deaths of countless civilians leave a horrible stain on the administration. In fact, prolonged and uncontrollable fighting in Iraq indicates that there is no clear end in sight. The Iraqi people have lost most of whatever little faith they had in the United States. Far from viewing Americans as heroic liberators, the Iraqis remain understandably suspicious and wary: "As a result of its initial miscalculations, misdirected planning, and inadequate preparation, Washington has lost the Iraqi people's confidence and consent, and it is unlikely to win them back," (Dobbins). Second, at the expense of scores of civilians, soldiers, journalists, and aid workers, the United States nearly single-handedly invaded a sovereign nation. As a result, the war in Iraq has largely diminished the credibility of the United States within the international community. Third, no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and no evidence existed to link that nation with the September 11 terrorist attacks. The war exposed the failure of Bush's leadership as well as the failure of America's intelligence agencies.

Bush's domestic record is equally as negative as his foreign policy record. Inserting his personal bias towards religion into public policy, Bush created what is commonly known as the faith-based initiative. The initiative is unwise and unnecessary. "Despite the strong fiscal health of faith-related providers, their heavy dependence on donor contributions raises important questions regarding the utility of faith-based policy initiatives," (Twombly). Furthermore, some fear that the faith-based initiative may end up causing religious discrimination. According to Anders, the faith-based initiative allows "federal funds to go to religious organizations that require their employees to adhere to particular religious practices, is a broad assault on civil rights employment protections that date back to the 1940s." Funding faith-based organizations means funding employers that can legally discriminate in their hiring practices. Thus, the implications of the faith-based initiative are frightening. Religious organizations are privately funded for practical reasons. Private funding ensures that public policies do not interfere with personal spirituality and vice-versa. When a president of the United States begins incorporating religious rhetoric into his speeches, alarm bells must sound. When that same president allocates taxpayer monies to religious groups, then citizens should be experiencing widespread panic.

Bush's No Child Left Behind Act is no less frightening than the faith-based initiative. Hiding behind good intentions, the No Child Left Behind Act fails to take into account a major factor: reality. Jim Donlevy notes, "It simply is not reasonable to continue to identify thousands of failing schools throughout the United States and then to see through to completion the sanctions written into the Act." The Act includes provisions for annual testing for schools, with progress requirements in core subjects such as English, math and science. "The idea is to be sure that all students are learning at higher standards," (Donlevy). However, the Act demands too much too soon. Forcing some schools to shut down due to substandard testing performance, the Act essentially discriminates against poor and underprivileged communities and the students that reside within them. No Child Left Behind focuses too much on test scores and too little on the problems that cause low test scores such as insufficient funding for inner-city and other poor schools.

I will refute the Presidency of George W. Bush based on his unsatisfactory performance regarding the war in Iraq, the faith-based initiative, and the No Child Left Behind Act. Bush's foreign policy is overly ambitious, violent, and disruptive to world peace. The faith-based initiative unravels years of social progress by reintroducing religion into the domain of politics. Because the two spheres of politics and religion should remain separate in any democracy, President Bush's administration represents a step in the wrong direction. Finally, the No Child Left Behind Act ends up leaving behind precisely those children it claims to help: the poor and underprivileged.