The Loyal Opposition

The proper role for those of us who did not vote for Bush is to both recognize that he IS the president, but to also stand up for what we believe in and make our causes heard. I believe fully that most of the causes championed by progressives will seem like "no-brainers" a couple of decades from now.

George Bush gave an important inaugural address, and perhaps an historic one. Time will tell. What does his stated committment to freedom around the world mean? To use some phrases that Martin Luther King was fond of, will we lead with "physical force" or "soul force"? Are we going to use our immense wealth and technology to better the condition of people around the world, or just blow stuff up until we get our way? Time will tell....

In case you are feeling like you've heard a lot of talk from Bush and the right this week, I've got a few suggestions that may balance things out a bit for you:

Tim Russert noted on MSNBC that many questions remain about the vision of liberty for the world that Bush outlined in his speech. This is especially true of how the rest of the world is looking at it. "The European press is very, very nervous this morning, because they believe it’s an indication the president believes he was right in Iraq. They are concerned we’re going to see the Iraq model imitated around the world."

The Christian Science Monitor pointed out that most of the rest of the world isn't thrilled with the prospect of four more years of Bush and believe he will make the world more dangerous. From their site:

In a new BBC World Service Poll of 22,000 people living in Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Europe, 58 percent of those surveyed said they believed US President George Bush will have a "negative impact on [global] peace and security."

Only 26 percent of those surveyed believed Mr. Bush was a positive force. The situation in Iraq was a key factor in many people's opinion of the US. The Guardian reports that the survey also indicates that, for the first time, the dislike of Mr. Bush is translating into a dislike of Americans in general.

The poll also showed how differently those in other countries and US citizens look at the global security situation.

Howard Zinn is always worth reading and he sounded a call to action. No more need to justify our luke-warm support for Kerry; now we get to actually articulate the things that we stand for. Editor of The Nation, Katrina Van Heuvel, has outlined a progressive agenda that is being enacted in states across the the nation. It counters some of what Bush called for in his Inaugural Address.

Also, John Nichols from the Nation had his answer to Bush posted yesterday afternoon, and he found a lot of hypocrisy in the "Bush Doctrine".

Finally, a voice from the political right: William Safire, a conservative republican writes a lot of interesting columns. It is too bad that he is retiring soon. Since he was once a speech writer for Nixon, his comments were well worth noting.