The Wrong Direction

As reported by the AP wire Sept 23rd, "President Bush on Thursday shrugged off polls that suggest most Iraqis see Americans as occupiers not liberators. 'I saw a poll that said the right track-wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America,' he told reporters. Bush did not indicate what poll he was referring to, but White House aides cited a recent poll in Iraq conducted in late August that showed that more than 51 percent of Iraqis surveyed felt their country was headed in 'the right direction,' up slightly from a May/June poll. "

Is he serious? Did he mean it? And why would he be proud of that? If it were true, I would not be touting it as good news.

First of all, before the US invasion, Iraq was ruled by a brutal dictator and suffering from 11 years of UN sanctions. If there is only 51% of the population that thinks the country is doing better and heading in the right direction, that is a bad sign, not a good sign. That means one out of every two Iraqis believe the country was better off under the brutal dictator.

Second, it shows his failure of leadership in the US where only 44% (Washington Post 9/9/04) of the population believes the country is heading in the right direction. He has misled the American people, he has squandered our money, put us in debt and made us less safe... and he is proud?