Lynn C. Woolsey: “the Bush administration loves to tout George W. Bush's willingness to stay the course as the source of his strength as a…”

“the Bush administration loves to tout George W. Bush's willingness to stay the course as the source of his strength as a President. Day after day, the President and his surrogates use this ``resolve'' to demonstrate why he should be reelected. The sad truth is that President Bush's resolve amounts to little more than a campaign tool to disguise the fact that his administration's policies have increasingly made Americans far less safe in the world. The President's resolve is actually nothing more than his attempt to lead our Nation while wearing blinders. President Bush failed to demonstrate resolve in fighting terrorism in the days before the September 11 terrorist attack. In fact, he vacationed at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for the entire month of August in the year 2001, neglecting to act on his daily intelligence briefings which specifically warned against terrorists crashing planes into large city buildings. Since September 11, President Bush has continued to fail in his resolve to fight international terrorism. Despite a promise to apprehend Osama bin Laden, dead or alive, President Bush actually pulled troops out of Afghanistan in the year 2002. This grave error allowed the al Qaeda leader to flee to the shadowy hinterlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Early in 2002, with bin Laden still on the loose, President Bush turned his attention to Iraq.”