Why I need George W. Bush

Okay, here we go. *winces a little--says a prayer for clarity*

Not long after our president took office, I turned to Greg and said, "History is turning on this man. Clinton will be forgotten a hundred years from now. President Bush will be remembered." I had an inkling of this in March 2001when the administration withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Since then the administration has turned its back on the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Landmines Convention, and the International Criminal Court; all multi-lateral treaties, all designed to make a safer world.

At school, I had to deal with the No Child Left Behind Act and its ramifications. The first four weeks of school were spent preparing children for testing, for answering questions on a standardized test, rather than training in critical thinking skills. 24 kids times 6.5 hours a day times 20 days. That's a lot of instructional time.

Then I myself lost my job. Due to the downturn in the economy, the jobs in this town moved elsewhere. With families leaving, less teachers were needed. This was compounded by the fact that less revenues were being collected in the state, meaning budget cuts and larger student/teacher ratios. (I could go on and on, but won't.)

In the meantime, we've lost over 500 soldiers to a war that I believe is misguided. The premise for starting the Iraq War was false and I see no end in sight. My friend Cliff, over in Iraq, writes home of the life and death challenges to the citizens of Iraq every day.

So why exactly do I need the man who led us into this mess, who is responsible for inflicting suffering upon innocents?

Because he's human. Because he is precious and of ultimate worth. And he needs me, too. I just don't need him to be the president of the United States of America now or ever again.