Monday, January 31, 2005 from Cohutta

Despite the fact that a preemptive strike was launched against a country under false pretenses to further a hidden agenda, my heart was warmed to see the larger voter turnout in Iraq. They risked their lives and were proud and pleased to do so. Did that make what we have done worth it? No! We’ve oiled the terrorist-making machine for at least a generation and lost the goodwill of practically every country in the world; if you doubt this, do a little traveling. The tactics that have led us to yesterday’s vote have cost us our moral high ground and our reputation as a peace-loving nation, no matter how we openly prosecute the offenders. We’ve driven this country into a debt that will take generations to recover from. The thousands of people who have been killed or mutilated must surely weigh on the conscience of decent people. Nevertheless, good things can sometimes come from bad situations and seeing the Iraqi’s joy reminded me of that. Is Bush still, in my opinion, an ignorant cowboy trying to get his daddy to look at him? Is Karl Rove his brain? Does he care only about his fat-cat cronies? After all this can he still be the moral person he claims to be? Yes, yes, yes and no.