Assessing Bush After His First 100 Days
Re “GOP OKs $1.35-Trillion Tax Cut Over 11 Years,” May 2: Without George W. Bush as president we would have had a zero tax cut or rebate--if it were up to the Democrats. The Democrats wanted to give us nothing. So, in reality, it is not that Bush was $200 billion from his goal, it’s that the Democrats were $1.35 trillion from their goal of zero.
Bush did a great thing. He will be one of our great presidents. But The Times insists on keeping him in the template it created when he was first running (he won’t be able to accomplish much, not smart, won’t bring people together, etc.). All I ask is that you be fair in your assessment of his accomplishments. Fifty percent of the country voted for him, but 100 days later he has a 65% approval rating. What does that tell you?
Jerry O’Brien
Mission Viejo
Come see the amazing Bush money machine! You put a $100,000 contribution in one end and a million-dollar tax refund comes out the other end.
Dan Levin
Los Angeles
The estimated cost of revamping the nation’s voting equipment is $4 billion, but Bush’s proposed budget has no funding for upgrading the system (April 26). Why didn’t Bush reduce his tax cut by $4 billion to fund the revamp, so that our country might avoid another debacle like the one in the 2000 presidential election? Since the present antiquated voting equipment served him well in November 2000, does he want to postpone any improvements until after his reelection bid?
Robert H. Congelliere
San Pedro
Re “Bush to Name Study Panel on Social Security Accounts,” May 2: So now Bush wants to put Social Security taxes in the stock market. Let’s see, deregulation of Social Security. That ought to work just fine!
Dave Kase
Palos Verdes Estates
We are being told that Bush is apparently applying his MBA mentality to decision-making. The MBAs at General Motors decided that not fixing a life-threatening flaw would be cheaper than paying any future liabilities resulting from human injury (‘A History of Fiery Deaths on the Road,” April 29). Do we really want decisions regarding water purity and where to drill for oil based on these same principles?
Larry Harmell
Granada Hills
When Bill Clinton proposed universal health care early in his presidency, the outcries against his plan were so vociferous you’d think he was suggesting a communist takeover of America. But where are the outcries now, with all of Dubya’s wrongheaded proposals? How can America afford an antimissile system when seniors on fixed incomes have to choose between food and electricity? How can America afford a $1.35-trillion tax cut when it has been shown that Bush’s tax cut in Texas was a big, expensive mistake? How can America allow the environment to be endangered by people like Vice President Cheney, who are so backward in their thinking that the only solutions they see for this manufactured energy “crisis” are more oil drilling and building nuclear power plants?
In 100 short days, Bush has shown he is a complete disaster.
Linda Heisen
Santa Monica
It is a fact of life that when expectations are lowered, things start looking brighter. Although it is true that one of Bush’s major advantages is the obscure moral legacy of his predecessor, it has greatly helped him that only 100 days ago the people of the U.S. were rather pessimistic about the leadership of its new president. So now, instead of focusing on our president’s spelling and his often awkward discourses, most people are finding a new appreciation for the graciousness of his speeches and overlooking his politically incorrect remarks because, after all, that is just the downside of being spontaneous.
Berta Graciano
Beverly Hills