I attended a speech by former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this morning. He was appointed by Bush and did a lot for the War on Terror cause, including faciliatating the Patriot Act, CIA snooping, NSA wiretapping, and a whole mess of other homeland security surveillance acts/agencies. Here are some interesting points from his speech, which, for the most part seemed more of a high school graduation speech
"After 9/11, when I first saw Bush get off the plane, I saw anger in his eyes. I then knew it'd be okay."
(exalting past presidents and their leadership) "Lincoln was courageous when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation"
"Truman ordered the nuclear bombing of two major civilian cities. He didn't care about being popular, he did what he thought was right."
"Obama used unmanned drones without any judicial accountability." (this was meant to be describing a good quality ina leader--conviction)
"I aided Bush through two wars and over fifty federal and state executions"
"After 9/11, we could have done anything with Congress. But we decided it was better to skip Congressional approval because it would have violated contracts, statutes, and treaties with other nations."
"Drone use is economical. If you're an emeny combatant in the US, you're a target in my eyes. Whether or not we have judicial or congressional approval"
"The Supreme Court still don't really know how to handle treatment of terrorists. There are four major cases, and there are 16 opinions that arise from them. We don't have a consensus."
"Spread your wings and fly to your full potential"
Aaaahhhhhh. So, that explains it!
I jotted them down in my iPhone. Rather disrespectfully, as I was in the front row.
I have to admit, on one hand I admired the guy because he has worked hard and came from very humble beginnings. Honestly, I don't think I fault him so much as just our political system that demands that people like him act the way they do. People who are simply drawn to the bipartisan dogma as a product of the closed system.
There's a reason that I'd bet no one on this forum is directly involved in politics. It's not for people like us, for people with principles and unmalleable beliefs who can't just pander to people promising them more benefits or security.