Yeah, Right, George – You’re Some Decider!
You’re a decider, George? Come on, get real. You haven’t made a serious decision in your entire life about anything more vital than what brand of beer to guzzle or what grade of cocaine to snort. Strutting around the White House claiming to be ‘the Decider’ is a laugh and a half, George. You said it before and no one cared. You said it again today and it’s just as pathetic. So, just what is it you’ve actually decided?

Face, it George, for six years now, you’ve been unable to make a single decision about anything that made a difference to any of us. From day one, others made the decisions and you just followed along as best you could Karl (Houdini) Rove was the one who decided your public image, the Supreme Court decided your election, hackable Diebold machines decided your second term, the religious right decided your domestic policy and PNAC decided your war plans. So, when did you buy in to that nonsense about being a “Decider,” George?

But, okay, George, - we’ll play along with you. Let’s pretend for the moment that you actually have some historical background, some worldly knowledge, some international experience, or some intellectual curiosity – a few of the things that are really needed to make important decisions in this time of crisis. Let’s look at just a FEW of the less than impressive decisions that were made during your presidency and see if you will really take responsibility for making them:

Think on it, George, if you are truly the DECIDER, then it was YOU who decided:

TO KEEP CHENEY’S ENERGY MEETINGS SECRET FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO THIS DAY

TO THREATEN BOMBING THE TALIBAN - BEFORE 9/11 - UNLESS THEY ENTERED INTO AN OIL PIPELINE DEAL WHICH THEY ULTIMATELY REFUSED

TO HAVE THE PATRIOT ACT READY FOR APPROVAL BY CONGRESS BEFORE 9/11

TO BAR AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EVENTS OF 9/11 FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR

TO UNDERFUND THE 9/11 COMMISSION AND DENY THEM SUBPOENA POWERS AND STONEWALL THEIR ACCESS TO VITAL DATA

TO LIE OUR NATION INTO AN ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL WAR AGAINST IRAQ

TO REFUSE TO INVESTIGATE THE VALERIE PLAME LEAK WITHIN YOUR OWN WHITE HOUSE

TO SEND OUR TROOPS INTO A WAR WITHOUT ADEQUATE ARMOR AND SUPPLIES

TO GIVE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN NO BID CONTRACTS TO HALLIBURTON AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AND TO HAVE NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE WAY THE MONEY WAS SPENT

TO BAR IMAGES OF FLAG-DRAPED COFFINS OF OUR DEAD SOLDIERS AND REGULAR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF CASUALTY NUMBERS.

TO DENY THAT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF IRAQI CIVILIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED IN YOUR WAR

TO HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO PLAN FOR MAINTAINING PEACE IN A NATION YOU CHOSE TO OCCUPY OR REBUILDING THE DAMAGE YOU INFLICTED

TO HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN IRAQ AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSTALLING A FUNDAMENTALIST CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT IN A FORMERLY SECULAR NATION

TO DENY THAT IRAQ HAS BECOME EMBROILED IN A DEVASTATING CIVIL WAR AND TO CONTINUALLY LIE THAT PROGRESS WAS BEING MADE

TO IGNORE THE ADVICE OF FAR WISER AND MORE EXPERIENCED STATESMEN AND MILITARY LEADERS WHO HAVE WARNED YOU ABOUT YOUR RECKLESS HUBRIS

TO SPY ON AMERICANS WITHOUT SECURING A COURT WARRANT

TO PERMIT TORTURE AT ABU GHRAIB, GUANTANAMO AND OTHER PRISONS, AND TO RENDITION PRISONERS FOR TORTURE IN OTHER COUNTRIES

TO SUSPEND HABEAS CORPUS FOR DETAINEES ARBITRARILY DETERMINED TO BE ENEMY COMBATANTS

TO BE TOTALLY UNPREPARED FOR HURRICANE KATRINA AND TO ABANDON THE VICTIMS OF THAT DISASTER TO THIS DAY

TO SEND THIS NATION INTO A SPIRAL OF DEBT AND DISRESPECT AS NEVER BEFORE IN OUR HISTORY

Had enough, George? I could go on, but this will have to do for now. Read the list slowly and deliberately if you can focus long enough to deal with it. Then, if you have the guts, stand in front of the American people and declare yourself the DECIDER! Tell them that it was YOU, not your handlers or your puppeteers or your advisors or your caretakers who made these decisions. Tell them how proud you are of your decisions, and how much the nation and the world has benefited from your leadership.

Oh yes, George, just one more thing. Give us some idea of the credentials you claim to have that allow you the right to make a single military decision about the war you lied us into. Tell us why YOU, and not the American people, the generals, the Congress, the Baker-Hamilton Group, or anyone else can be ignored while YOU parade around as the sole DECIDER of the fate of the nation and the world.

And then, George, - for kicks - read the US Constitution, and discover that YOU WORK FOR US, the people. You are a public servant, George, not the Emperor or Dictator of this nation, and you are beholden to us all for every move you make.

Until then, Mr. Decider, it’s you and Barney and Laura against the rest of humanity. This “Decider” nonsense really would be a laugh and a half, George, if the consequences were not so terrible. Perhaps it’s time for you to go back to making decisions about beer and coke, - and leaving the really important stuff to those who are equipped to handle it.