Ancient History

Although it feels like a lifetime ago (and perhaps it was), I still remember the first presidential candidate I met, and later voted for. My sister, Nancy, and I, along with our dear friend Barb, went to a union hall after work in the fall of 1972 to hear George McGovern speak. In those more innocent times, all you had to do was show up and you were able to hear the man speak and shake his hand. I'm trying to remember if he had Secret Service protection, but I can't recall. I know there were handlers and TV crews present, but it was not difficult to get close to him.

In November, I proudly cast my first presidential vote for Senator McGovern. I've tried to do a Google search to find out the election results in my county that year, but suffice to say, I'm sure the good senator did not carry Hamilton County, Ohio.

I thought of Senator McGovern this morning, when reading an opinion piece in the Washington Post, entitled "Why I Believe Bush Must Go" in which he outlines why Mr. Bush should be impeached. While, at this point, impeachment might do more damage than it's worth, we should pay attention to the problems left behind by the Chimp and his entourage. The next president will have his or hands full trying to shovel out the dirt left behind.

Here's Senator McGovern's take:

Although the president was advised by the intelligence agencies last August that Iran had no program to develop nuclear weapons, he continued to lie to the country and the world. This is the same strategy of deception that brought us into war in the Arabian Desert and could lead us into an unjustified invasion of Iran. I can say with some professional knowledge and experience that if Bush invades yet another Muslim oil state, it would mark the end of U.S. influence in the crucial Middle East for decades.

Ironically, while Bush and Cheney made counterterrorism the battle cry of their administration, their policies -- especially the war in Iraq -- have increased the terrorist threat and reduced the security of the United States. Consider the difference between the policies of the first President Bush and those of his son. When the Iraqi army marched into Kuwait in August 1990, President George H.W. Bush gathered the support of the entire world, including the United Nations, the European Union and most of the Arab League, to quickly expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The Saudis and Japanese paid most of the cost. Instead of getting bogged down in a costly occupation, the administration established a policy of containing the Baathist regime with international arms inspectors, no-fly zones and economic sanctions. Iraq was left as a stable country with little or no capacity to threaten others.

Today, after five years of clumsy, mistaken policies and U.S. military occupation, Iraq has become a breeding ground of terrorism and bloody civil strife. It is no secret that former president Bush, his secretary of state, James A. Baker III, and his national security adviser, Gen. Brent Scowcroft, all opposed the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.

See? There are some Republicans who got it right - it ain't so difficult, now is it?

And I'm still proud of my vote in 1972.