Posted by
Over the Kohls on Monday, November 26, 2007 10:50:50 PM
President George Bush welcomed Al Gore to the White House today to honor him for being this year’s recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Bush is a much better man than I or most of us for that matter ever could be. How many of us could ever welcome a person to your house that made statements like the following about you? (These quotes are from Gore’s address at New York University in 2004. He has ripped Bush many more times since.)
“George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world.”
“He promised to ‘restore honor and integrity to the White House.’ Instead, he has brought deep dishonor to our country and built a durable reputation as the most dishonest President since Richard Nixon.”
“He has created more anger and righteous indignation against us as Americans than any leader of our country in the 228 years of our existence as a nation -- because of his attitude of contempt for any person, institution or nation who disagrees with him.”
“He has exposed Americans abroad and Americans in every U.S. town and city to a greater danger of attack by terrorists because of his arrogance, willfulness, and bungling at stirring up hornet's nests that pose no threat whatsoever to us. And by then insulting the religion and culture and tradition of people in other countries. And by pursuing policies that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women and children, all of it done in our name.”
“The unpleasant truth is that President Bush's utter incompetence has made the world a far more dangerous place and dramatically increased the threat of terrorism against the United States.”
"So today, I want to speak on behalf of those Americans who feel that President Bush has betrayed our nation's trust, those who are horrified at what has been done in our name, and all those who want the rest of the world to know that we Americans see the abuses that occurred in the prisons of Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and secret locations as yet undisclosed as completely out of keeping with the character and basic nature of the American people and at odds with the principles on which America stands."
Rather than honor this lunatic, I would have had him arrested. But that’s just me. Bush, however, and to my own personal embarrassment, has turned the other cheek too many times to suit me. He should have fired back against attacks such as these and made his case to the American people. He’s had good cases to make but has not done a good job of it. This has been a failing of the Bush Administration. But to bring the man into the White House and honor him is far greater than he deserves.