This is my first diary, and while I know it may be lost in the mass of diaries being written, I wanted to add my dismay and despair to the chorus of voices.
First, Mr. Bush did not betray me. I cannot be betrayed by someone I never trusted in the first place. From the moment Mr. Bush appeared in Florida, from the moment I saw Katherine Harris on TV, I knew that if Mr. Bush did not care about the basic rights of Americans, to have their votes counted, then Mr. Bush was not to be trusted as a leader of a democratic country. His cavalier and arrogant attitude was appalling to me, and when the Supreme Court placed him in office, I knew I did not have a President who cared about me.
I grew up believing in the principles this country was based on - equality for all men. I believed in this country, loved it with all my heart, even while aware of our shortcomings (the slavery trade, Manifest Destiny and the abuse of Native Americans). I considered myself a moderate; someone who believed in a degree of personal autonomy, welfare reform, and conservative fiscal policy combined with social progressive policies.
As we have all talked about for years, this Administration has proven time and again how inept and arrogant they are. Maybe I believed Mr. Bush for a moment after 9/11 that he cared - but my friends in New York will tell you their funding was cut for fire and police. No, Mr. Bush hasn't betrayed me. He doesn't have the ability to do so - there was no trust in the first place.
But I believe the ones that I thought had a RESPONSIBILITY to us - the Press - have betrayed me. There are diaries upon diaries that talk about the loss of journalistic responsibility. The last few days give me hope in that area. But there is another betrayal going on that causes me the greatest despair of all. Where is the Democratic Party?
Where are the people speaking out against this inept and dangerous Administration?
And now, the man I admired for years, the man I literally ran to vote for in 1992, a man I supported throughout his impeachment ordeal, is tacitly supporting this Administration. He is supporting "staying the course." I can see that argument. I am undecided on it, but being more convinced each day it is not in our best interests. But, there is no excuse for Mr. Clinton to even hint that Mr. Bush was right on GMA when he stated no-one could have anticipated the breaking of the levees. He didn't come out and say it in so many words, but it is what he is NOT saying that feels like just one more betrayal.
September 2, 2005
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
c/o The Clinton Foundation
55 W. 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
Re: Your Comments regarding Hurricane Katrina
Dear President Clinton:
This letter is not in regard to your wonderful Foundation, but as this is the only address I have for you, I can only hope you read this letter. I surely hope a staff member is not the only one who does.
Mr. Clinton, I'm a 48 year old woman whose first election was in 1976 when I voted for Mr. Carter. Following that election, I participated in local elections but did not vote again for a President until 1992. I just couldn't bring myself to vote for the men who ran in those intervening years (including Mr. Carter a second time), and it wasn't until you came along that I felt I had someone to vote for. I admired you. I still do. I have your book, I've read your words, and you are the only politician I have supported 100%, even sending you Get Well Wishes and Birthday Greetings. During the impeachment, I made a vow that until the Republican Party stops their scorch and burn politics, I would never vote for them again on any level, national or local.
And now I feel you have betrayed my admiration and trust in you by your tacit approval lately of the Bush policies. I'm feeling lost and in despair regarding the direction of this country, and now people are dying in New Orleans and in the Gulf Coast, and yet you come out on TV and support the lie that the Bush Administration has perpetuated about not being able to foresee the levees breaking. I have always admired your intelligence, your willingness to research, and you have to know this to be a lie. There is no excuse for this. There is no excuse for a President who states "zero tolerance" when people cannot feed themselves or their babies. There is no excuse for federal funding being denied to New Orleans who asked for help regarding the levees. There is no excuse for a President to go to a birthday party and play a guitar when he should have been taking care of this problem. You would have. You would have been on the job. There is no excuse for the inaction and cavalier attitude this Administration has shown toward those who COULD NOT evacuate. There is no excuse to paint the victims as the ones responsible. Yet, your statements that support this Administration in any way are giving these people excuses. There are no excuses anymore. You also support the idea we must stay in Iraq, yet you know - you said it in your book - that Iraq should not have been our primary concern. You listed it 7th on your list, didn't you?
Why are you doing this? The policies of this Administration are ruining our country. If it wasn't apparent last week, this week it is in our faces. People are dying! The Federal Government is failing us!
You're failing us. I understand you have a respect for the Office of President. I understand you may have come to like Mr. George Bush, Sr. But no matter what your policies, no matter what you have had to do as President, I always believed you CARED. That is what makes you different than many of the present Republicans in our Government. I'm afraid, now, it seems you may have even lost that.
I believe you could have stayed off the TV if you didn't want to speak out. Supporting the lies of an Administration that has lied and lied and lied, an Administration that did not CARE that voters' votes were not being counted (the basic bedrock of this country!), then I am terribly disappointed in you.
Mr. President, you're breaking my heart.
And when will the Democrats speak out? I write to my Democratic Senators and they don't care. I get "form letter" responses. WHERE IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
I've had enough. This is not the country I grew up in, nor is it the country that I have loved. I'm ashamed. You should be, too.
Sincerely,
Enough. Where are those that will stand up for this country? Where are those that really care?
(BTW, I had to do this diary four times. Everytime I clicked on Preview, I lost it. Is this common?)
UPDATE: After watching Bush today, I will say that I wish Bill Clinton had been on the ground. I may be annoyed with him, but my god, if only he had been hugging those people. He would have actually meant it.