"Where are the Heroes?"

The Time for Heroes is Almost Past!

In his rush to achieve narrow ends, the Master of Gobbledygook has some willing accomplices: Us! Oh, not you or me necessarily, but all the rest of us Americans who are loathe to think ill of our leadership—no matter how bad they are!. That is something inbred in us; a reluctance to think that our leaders would do anything to hurt us.

In our naïve way, we have paved the way for the worst cadre of leaders that this country has ever known. And we have been painfully slow to wake up to the truth. It is part of our psyches to think of our leaders as our extended families, as part of what makes us what we are. But that time is ending. Witness the polls. Survey after survey reinforces the glacial truth, that the president’s approval rating is approaching the abyss and could plummet even further. In virtually every single survey, his standing stood at under 40% with more than one survey showing only 37% support! Down from double those figures after he declared “Victory” in Iraq somewhat prematurely nearly three years ago!...

What does this auger?

Republican reactions may serve as the best barometer of what falling polls and public apathy for the president’s policies may signal. Observers of Bush loyalists note that they are taking to the hills faster than a pack of wounded rabbits with the hounds breathing down their necks. Cutting and running seems to be where the Party of Lincoln stands today.

It is surprising to discover that many of his previously staunch supporters really held ideologies opposed to the president’s; many, it turns out now, did not uphold his arguments for going to War. Many were actually against his violations of the Constitution and privacy measures. Many now tell us that they were diametrically opposed to torture, the holding of American citizens in violation of their Constitutional rights. Many believed in their hearts—according to their own press releases, felt that the policies embraced by Bush and his cadre of dissemblers were really at odds with the will of the people.

The only trouble was that up until now, they never said anything! They never disagreed with the president or the leadership. And they never stood up to be counted!

So what are we as voters and citizens to think?

What we are seeing is not so much dwindling support for this president but an attempt to shore up support for Republicans who are faced with the reality of getting re-elected.

Most have discovered that if your stand has been for policies and programs that have dwindling support among the electorate, you had better change your ways or declare your independence. So what we see instead of being heroic moves is really the scurrying around of desperate men who recognize that everything they stood for, everything they supported is going down in flames!

It is still unclear how Democrats facing hands full of Royal Flushes and Full Houses will play their hands.

For now, there is still dissension in the ranks. And no one has emerged to energize the electorate or prove themselves the courageous leader that we, the rank and file, are seeking to lead us—someone who is unafraid to pick up the standard and assail the battlements.

The slowness and deliberateness of the Democratic leaders is loaded with meaning for those of us who were willing to stand up and speak our minds. The time for heroes to emerge is growing late! And most of us are dumbfounded by the fact that so few have been willing to stand up for us at this hour when victory is all but ours!....

Les Aaron