dear mr. bush

Mr. President Bush,

My wife voted for you twice. I know you're not smart with the math, so I guess I should explain. She voted for you in 2000 and in 2004-not twice in the same election. Using the same "new" math, I only voted for you once, but that was four years ago; I've since learned my lesson. Four years ago, I went against my conscience and voted for you because I thought you were an honest, good man, a man of character and integrity. Of course, it didn't hurt that your opponent was a complete moron. And in retrospect, the fact that you lost the popular vote to him does not bode well for your legacy. But I digress...on with the letter.

You began to lose my respect in September 2001. Like most Americans on September 11th, 2001, I was furious. I wanted someone to suffer for their sins. I wanted American jets in the air, and I wanted those jets bombing the hell out of whoever was responsible. I did not want Osama bin Laden "brought to justice." I wanted him dead. Him and whoever worked with him. I wanted vengeance. And it felt good.

I went to bed that night feeling terrible, secretly disgusted with myself. How did such incredible hate so suddenly fill my heart? Yet, I'm sure my thoughts were the thoughts of most Americans. We were pissed and wanted revenge.

I then began to think about what a great leader would do. A true leader would guide the nation not from his/her heart, which would undoubtedly be filled with hate and vengeance, but would guide with wisdom, divorced from emotion. A true leader would call for peace. The hate stops. It stops with us. We have been deeply wronged, but we will not return murder with more murder, killing with more killing, hate with more hate. Instead, we will work to reconcile ourselves with the rest of the world, taking blame when need be.

Our nation needed a leader who would urge the people to "beat swords into plowshares" (Isaiah 2.4). Instead you urged us to beat our plowshares into swords. And you did it, of all places, in a church. On Sept 14, within the walls of the National Cathedral, you proclaimed America's awesome thirst for vengeance. "This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing." These words are eloquent, Mr President, and I'd be lying if there wasn't a bit of my own persona which enjoys the idea that we have the power to annihilate our enemies. But need I remind you, the leader of our nation, that power corrupts?
You have made it clear that the "hour of our choosing" will come by means of force, our military might, motivated by desires for vengeance. I want more from a leader. Something much more radical. Violence and war are easy, especially for the most powerful military on earth. Diplomacy, leading by example, and the willingness to forgive without being asked for forgiveness, are much harder, yet much braver.

Did you ever stop to think men could only be angry enough to fly planes into buildings because they've been sinned against? And that we, the most powerful nation on earth, occur a little of that blame? People are angry because they have no hope. We Americans are hated not because we have freedom, but because we have failed to give other people the same hope which we possess. In some way, it's our own fault people hate us. And a war sure as hell ain't going to fix anything.

At the time of this writing, 1,528 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. 11,568 have been wounded. 16,389 civilians have died. Why?

I ask why because I honestly don't know. I'm not a liberal hack. I'm not out to prove you wrong just because you're a republican. I just can't make any sense of it. The common conspiracy theory, we went into Iraq for the oil, doesn't hold water. Gas is now 2.25 a gallon.

In the beginning, we went to war because Iraq was a sponsor of terror. "Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists." Iraq was responsible for 9/11. Going into Iraq was part of the "war on terror." But now we know that's not true.

Then we were told Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Even the most daft among us knows that's not true.

The list of bad reasons for the war is endless. If you'd like a summary of all your lies, check out Eliot Weinberger's piece in the London Review of Books.

Mr President, you seem like a fairly religious chap. I respect this about you. I too am deeply religious. Furthermore, I don't think you are wrong to rely on your faith to guide you. I actually think this is a healthy quality to have. I don't think you are wrong to have deeply held religious convictions. This too, I think, is healthy.

The problem, as I see it, is that we have deep disagreements about what our religion, Christianity, teaches.

You seem to think God cares about whether or not homosexuals can marry. As a Protestant, I assume you derive this from scripture alone. Here we disagree. Strongly. I maintain the bible has little, if anything, to say about same sex marriage (If you'd like a full explanation of my biblical analysis please respond to this letter, and I'll go into more depth). In constrast, I fervently declare that the bible offers us an unified message about how to treat widows, orphans, and the poor. But that message is much inconvenient for you, isn't it? The bible offers us a description of how "easy" it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom or heaven (as easy as a camel passing through the eye of a needle). Would you consider yourself rich, Mr President? For your sake, I hope you can thread your body through the eye of a needle.

I don't mean to oversimpfy things (like you so often do), but are judges only "activist" when they rule against your liking? You think we need a constitutional amendment to declare marraige as a union between one man and one woman. You think an amendment is neccessary because activist judges are ruling otherwise. In 2000, you were declared president due in large part because of a ruling by the judges of the supreme court. I'm assuming you wouldn't dare label them as "activist." But the judges who rule in favor of granting universal rights to men and women, regardless of sexual orientation, are "activist?" Damn those activist judges, trying to ensure we continue in our belief that "all men are created equal."

How are you and Dick getting along?

In reference to Terry Schiavo, you said that we are a nation which "errs on the side of life." But during your reign as governor of Texas, 150 people were executed. This includes the execution of mentally retarded offenders. I know the people on death row have been convicted of heinous crimes. But why not "err on the side of life" for them? After all, in the past 30 years 119 death row inmates have been found innocent and released. It seems your hypocricy knows no bounds.

I wanted to vote for you again, especially considering the knucklehead you were running against. In the end, I took the advice of the Economist, and voted for incoherence (Kerry) rather than incompetence (you). I want to like you, Mr President, but I can not. Maybe we can work our differences over a round of golf and a beer sometime. I'd know I'd like that. In the meantime, I beg you to take seriously your pledge on Nov 3, when you spoke after hearing your opponent had conceded the election. You pledged to be the President of all Americans. That goes for me too, Mr President. I did not vote for you. I think you are incompetent. I beg you to prove me wrong.