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On January 15^th, President Bush, with little fanfare and attention, gave his farewell address.  As I look back on his Presidency, a few thoughts come to mind:  after 9-11, President Bush laid out his strategy for keeping us safe from terrorists, then he executed this strategy and then he kept us safe with it.  We thanked him by turning our backs on him and allowing his vicious political enemies in the media and Washington to shape our opinions of him for us.  One memorable line stands out from his farewell address: “As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11.  But I never did."  President Bush is an honorable man who kept my family and yours safe.  We should all be ashamed of ourselves for accepting the attacks on his performance and character without regard for the truth.  The “ridiculous” and “horrible” strategies that President Bush executed kept us safe.  During his Presidency, we thwarted would be attacks, established a military base in Middle East and sent a message to terrorist harboring dictators throughout the world.  No amount of spin or rationalization can change these facts.  He kept us safe.  We owe him thanks.

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As President and Laura Bush sat on the dais and watched the inauguration festivities, some tolerant, hopeful Obama supporters in the front of the crowd mocked him with sarcastic songs and chants.  Classless.

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President Bush went out of his way to make the transition as easy and smooth as possible for President Obama.  Compare that to the outgoing Clinton Administration that vandalized the White House, stole valuable White House property and did everything possible to sabotage a dignified transition, or did you forget about that?  We’re at the point in this country where an honorable, dignified man gets trashed on his way out of office, and an impeached President who pardoned terrorists on his last day, who disgraced the Office by having an affair with an 20 year old intern, and whose security policies lead to 9-11 is welcomed back to Washington with open arms.

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By the way, it should be noted that those who ignored Al-Qaeda and their numerous direct attacks on our country leading up to 9-11 are all back in power in Washington. They are back and are assuming critical positions in Barack Obama’s government. Americans need to know that elections have consequences and those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

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President Obama’s first priority as President was to announce the closing of the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay.  He’s not sure what he is going to do with the 250+ vicious terrorists being held there yet, so he is giving his people 1 year to figure it out.  That sounds like a great plan.  No other country will take these dangerous terrorists, the ones we’ve set free have turned up on foreign battlefields, he doesn’t know what he is going to do with them, but he is closing the prison anyway.  Symbolism over real security.  Get used to it.

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President Obama’s second priority as President was to lift the ban on funding foreign abortions.  I’ll be you didn’t know that we ever did fund foreign abortions.  Well, we did but George W. stopped it.  So, let’s get this straight.  Our economy is in shambles.  Our national debt is skyrocketing.  Our government is printing money to keep things afloat, but President Barack Obama’s second priority in office is to begin funding foreign abortions again.  Does that make any sense?  Has there been a clamor for this?  This begs the question: why does Barack Obama feel more threatened by foreign unborn babies than the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay?

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Okay.  So you want something positive about our new President. No problem. I liked this line from his inaugural address: “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.  Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.  Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage public dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”  If President Barack Obama holds his government accountable, spends wisely, reforms bad habits, is transparent and ends government programs that don’t work then I will be his most vocal supporter.  I also liked what he said when he was sworn in: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  Today more than ever, our Constitution needs to be preserved, protected and defended. If President Barack Obama honors his oath, I will steadfastly support him.

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Congress is giving the Obama administration $850 billion to spend to boost the economy. We can only hope that they spend it wisely and don’t use the funds to buy votes with pet pork projects doomed to fail.  Some are suspicious, however. Republican leader John Boehner comments: “You know, I'm concerned about the size of the package.  And I'm concerned about some of the spending that's in there, ... how you can spend hundreds of millions on contraceptives?”  Wait a second. Obama’s stimulus spending includes money for contraceptives?  What kind of stimulus plan are we talking about here?

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Obama economic advisor Robert Reich gave his two cents on how the stimulus plan should work: “I am concerned, as I’m sure many of you are, that these jobs not simply go to high-skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers.”  Just a little insight into how these people think.  This guy is Bill Clinton’s former Labor Secretary by the way.

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Is anyone else nervous about our new Secretary of State?  Her and her husband have taken tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments over the past 16 years and we are supposed to believe there are no conflict of interests here.  Well, some of us will.



...more columns by Todd A. Carges