Friday, December 23, 2005
George W. Bush Nominated as Person of the Year
My first perusal of the headlines this morning had me looking at Time Magazine’s nominees for Person of the Year. Condoleezza Rice would be my selection, Lance Armstrong and Steven Jobs would also be strong selections in my opinion. The Clintons, together, Pope Benedict, and J.K. Rowling would also be great selections. The option of Mother Nature as person of the year made me laugh. But the name at the top of the list was no laughing matter,
How in the world could CNN think about George W. Bush as the man of the year? The audio program on his nomination indicated that the leader of the free world should always be on this list, which he was at the center of all the top headlines from the year 2005. But is the person of the year supposed to be in the center of the big stories, or is the person of the year supposed to be making positive steps, doing good things that help our society?
George W. Bush’s year was marked by failures more than successes. The failure to provide support to the people affected by Katrina in a timely fashion (and the related failure to listen to Mayor Nagin’s pleas for help before and after the storm). The failure to find an exit strategy in Iraq, or even to acknowledge that this is a war without a recognizable path towards victory. The failure to find Osama Bin Laden. Failures in filling the supreme court with his personal allies. And failure to protect working Americans, whether they work for Wal-Mart or are members of the AFL-CIO.
Perhaps Time thinks that Bush’s movement from a 37% approval rating to a 41% approval rating merits his nomination as person of the year. Maybe it was his violation of the first amendment rights of hundreds of protestors outside his ranch as he had them arrested for protesting the Iraq war. Or maybe his great golf games on the Monday and Tuesday following Katrina, golf games that delayed both Nagin and FEMA director Brown from reaching the president following the storm justify Bush’s nomination as person of the year.
As for me, I would think there’s more merit in giving the award to one of the people who, at their own peril, went down and saved lives in Katrina-stricken New Orleans. I could even support giving the award to a US soldier in Iraq, who went there to fight a war which I can’t support, and which has no positive outcome in sight. I could support a nomination for Mahmoud Abbas, who moved his people closer to peace then they’ve ever been before. I would even support nominations for George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton for their efforts to provide support for the Tsunami and Katrina.
But my apologies, I can not justify, in any way, shape or form, support George Bush as man of the year. Let’s wait until he does something positive for his constituents, citizens of the United States, or even does something positive for the world around him. Until then, my apologies, but I cannot support George W. Bush as a nominee for Person of the Year. To me, it’s a disgrace to the whole process.
Posted by Scottage at 1:07 PM /
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