President

President.
I could go through every one of these basic values—but I’ll pick just
one: safety. Safety because, right now, this is the most pressing issue.

I want a president who will:

1. Actively fight terrorists where they are.

2. Use every weapon at his disposal: military, diplomatic, and economic.

3. Prevent attacks on America.

In other words, I want John Kerry to be president.

George Bush has hurt the cause of safety.

1. He has not killed or captured Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda remains a
threat. By diverting energy to Iraq, he skipped out on the job of getting the people who attacked us.

2. By being continually hostile and condescending to our allies—our friends—Bush
has put us in a position where we must do everything ourselves. That’s
like fighting with one hand tied behind your back. I want to fight with
both hands—and both feet, teeth, and brains.

3. Bush has insufficiently helped efforts at home to prevent terrorism.
The emphasis has been on things like the Patriot Act rather than on the
more boring but very important issues of securities in ports, trains,
airplane cargo holds, and so on. First responders are under-funded. Tax
breaks get priority over common-sense security, which is inexcusable in
this time of asymmetrical warfare.

Were this an episode of The Apprentice, Donald Trump might say, “I like
this guy. He has a lot of potential. But he didn’t get the guys who
attacked us, and he made too many bad decisions and didn’t take
responsibility.”

So I have to say, George, you’re fired. 

[inessential.com]

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