Bush is an idiot

I know that I usually reserve this blog for family related information and such, but I simply cannot remain silent about something that has me pissed off. I have a public forum (such as it is) and I'm going to use it to get on a soapbox for a moment. The Democratic controlled Congress has discussed implementing a tobacco tax to provide additional funds for state sponsored health care for children in households that make less than 300% of the poverty level (about 23,000 a year for a single parent of two children and 62,000 a year for a married couple with two children). Bush, in his less than inspired wisdom, has threatened to veto this bill because it would place an "undue burden on the American people". Now, for those of you who know me, I'm as far from a Bush fan as you can get and still live in this country. But the sheer gravitas of the man continues to amaze me. Forgoing his disasterous foreign policy blunders, Bush is making a mockery of the office of the President. I could understand if he were opposed to tax increases that were arbitrary and unnecessary. But how can anyone argue against the benefits of health care for children? Both of my children are covered under state sponsored health care and both of them have benefitted from it. My nephew would not have been able to receive treatment for his leukemia without state sponsored health care.

Bush is opposing this tax increase on puring ideaological lines. There is no justification nor are there any rationalizations for his insistenance on vetoing this bill. Evidently Bush has no idea how much health care in this country costs. Nor does he seem to realize that it actually costs more money to take care of sick people (and children) with no health care than to provide them with subsidized coverage. But then, Bush has had practically everything handed to him since he was 18 by his daddy (read "Fortunate Son" by J.H. Hatfield if you want to know more).

I know that a great number of people (although that number is dropping daily) support Bush for his "war on terror", however misguided it is. But I don't really see how anyone can justify the President spending billions of dollars to prop up the Iraqi government and not be willing to support a tax increase that will bring in about 35 million to make sure our children won't go without health care. But then, these same people are probably the same ones who earnestly believe in the theory that WMDs are just waiting to be found in Iraq.