Should we constantly criticize the president?

Kadie Sharp a&e asst. editor

You should really try criticizing President George W. Bush. It’s the current fad. He is criticized for problems such as the FEMA fiasco after Hurricane Katrina to trivialities such as taking long vacations. When it comes to President Bush, criticism abounds.

So far in his presidency, President Bush has not only dealt with the war in Iraq but also tough issues such as the No Child Left Behind Act, a slumping economy, the nuclear weapon threat, Social Security reform, gay marriage and abortion rights.

And have we forgotten the terrorist attack on America when our country banded together, led by the reassuring voice of our president? President Bush was able to unite people in the name of American patriotism.

More recently, President Bush has dealt with the indictments against government officials such as Tom Delay, majority leader of the House of Representatives, and Lewis Libby, chief-of-staff and national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, who just resigned in the heat of the CIA agent name-leak scandal.

People are quick to judge President Bush’s decisions, but it is easy to criticize when you don’t have to come up with solutions and then execute them in a presidential position.

It is good to have some discretion about the president, or else Americans might blindly let dictators run the country as Iraq did with Saddam Hussien. That’s why the impeachment process exists. We have now had two presidents impeached: Andrew Johnson for crossing Congress and Bill Clinton for perjury. Power can corrupt and must be checked and balanced.

Presidents in the past have betrayed the trust of Americans: Nixon and the Watergate Scandal and Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair, for instance. This betrayal has made people more critical of the President of United States. Critics always seem one step behind the President, waiting for him to slip up so they can call him on it loud and clear.

With so much talk of whether President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq was right or not, America’s pessimism is seen and heard in all avenues.

But does anyone stop to think what it would be like to run a country of more than 280 million people. What is it like to govern the world’s superpower, to be the world’s savior in times of need, to deal with crime, health care, education and unemployment.

What is it like to have rules, regulations and complications to the decisions you make. What is it like to have pressure from political parties and countries on every topic. What is it like to declare war, knowing that thousands of Americans may be killed and you will be held responsible for those deaths.

Could you really lead the country better?

President Bush is required to make life-altering decisions for people worldwide under the vision of scrutinizing eyes day after day.

If honest with themselves, most people would probably realize they don’t want such an enormous responsibility placed on their shoulders. Before you judge, ask yourself if you could really do any better.

So the next time you’re deciding whether to shop at Broulims or Albertsons, just remember President Bush has to decide who will be the next Supreme Court Justice to tip the scales on the gay marriage controversy.