Advice For The President

CNN asked their viewers to give President Bush some advice, and some of it’s pretty good. I’ve decided to give him some too:

1. Don’t trust your judgement. You’ve hired some really unqualified, unethical and despicable people to work for you. You have more convicted felons working for your adminstration than any administration in the history of the country. You may not have done all the bad things they’ve done, but you’re ultimately responsible for their actions because you’re the boss. Next time, hire people who are actually qualified for the job, not your friends and patrons.
2. Stop listening to Dick Cheney. See number one… The man led us into Iraq, turned us into torturers and outed an undercover CIA agent. I know you’re too blindly loyal to fire him, but please, please please stop listening to him.
3. Listen to the American people. A hearty majority of us think you lied about Iraq, and no longer think you’re a man of integrity (between 55-65% in the latest polls). That same majority thinks that Karl Rove should be fired. We’re right. Yes, we know you’re loyal, and the investigation is ongoing, but the indictment of Scooter Libby pretty much lays it out that Karl leaked to Matthew Cooper and probably Novak, and you know that. You’re the President. You know more about this than Fitzgerald does, and we’re going to hold you and your party accountable for it. Come clean. Get rid of Rove, Cheney and anyone else involved, and tell us the truth. You promised us in 2000 that you would return “honor and integrity to the White House”. Holy cow have you failed. You still have three years to try.
4. Start answering our questions and fire Scott McClellan. Have you watched the gaggles in the mornings? They’re the most embarrassing exercise in futility I’ve ever seen. Scottie (and you too) refuse to answer questions, and we’re tired of it. If you want us to believe you, you have to tell us the truth.\
   Mr. President, I don’t like your administration. I don’t particularly like you. But, I love my country, and I’m tired of the rest of world laughing at us and/or hating us. We’re The United States of America. I expect more out of my government than dodges, lies and torture. I expect the transparency, honor and honesty of a true democracy. I expect competance from those my President appoints, and responsibility taken when things go wrong. You’ve failed on all counts so far. I hope you’ll take some advice and fix things before it’s too late. If you won’t listen to me, or the 160 million people who think you’re a liar, listen to the smart people in your own party like Chuck Hagel, John McCain, John Warner and others who aren’t crazy, aren’t (or soon to be) convicted felons and who honestly want to do the right thing. They, among others, have been trying to tell you the truth, trying to help you, but you keep going back to the same wrong people over and over and over.\
   UPDATE: Oh, and we’re on to the publicity tricks too. You think this means anything? You knew what they were doing, and if you didn’t, it says more about you than it does about them. You can’t say you didn’t know what was going on and that you didn’t approve because it makes you look like an incompetent leader. You can’t say you knew because it makes you complicit. There is no clean way to weasel out of this one, so you probably shouldn’t try. Just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may.