My Frustration With Politics

As most readers of this blog has noticed is that there are a lot less politics than before. I think I've figured it out with the help of some very wise friends. I meet with a group of guys almost every week. The only way I can describe the group is that they are "truth seekers".

One of the group had just gotten back from Europe and had some conversations over there about what Euros think of America and Bush. Of course most Euros can't stand Bush and it brought up the "why do Europeans hate Bush so much" question. I've never been to Europe but the rest of the group has. I asked a lot of questions and realized how much I really still like George W. Bush. I admire his honesty, faith and his stance of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Here's the biggest problem, his message hasn't gotten out. That's my frustration! We've done so much good in Iraq yet it gets drowned out by bad news. It seems that no matter what good the Bush Administration does they let it just sit there while the anti-Bush crowd (including the MSM) goes on the attack and focus's only on things that aren't going so well. Heck, many aspects of the economy are strong yet if you read any of the MSM the economy is totally a wreck.

My turn off is that it just seems that from the outside the Bush Administration is a total screw up. Well, I just don't see it that way and it's sad that this administration can't communicate the messages very well. The Clinton Administration had very few policy successes that they proposed yet had a 7/24 campaign machine for 8 years (it's still going) that took credit for a ton of things that came from a Republican Congress that Clinton had no choice to sign. The Bush Administration needs to get cracking on the message (Tony Snow is a good start) and needs to get aggressive. They need a spin machine that equals the old Clinton spin machine. That's the way politics works and that's what Bush needs to do.

I truly used to believe that just doing good work would pay off but my "truth seeker" friends convinced me differently. The reality is that it does matter because our society and others don't have time for the truth. One of our group was hearing from a Euro about how Bush == Hitler. He asked the speaker why and there really wasn't much thought behind why this person believed Bush == Hitler. People just want to have a simple answer without much thought. The Bush Administration, Republican Party and other allies need to drive home a message that is simple, clear and persuasive (and truthful, because truth is important).

It seems that the anti-Bush side's talkin points are that Bush hates poor people, hates minorities, doesn't care about the environment, is on a Christian crusade and that Iraq is all about oil. Bush and the rest need to counter those points and drive home the truth. One of the our group mentioned how Bush is very blunt. The bluntness is something I admire but my friend pointed out that it really doesn't work well outside of his supporters. In a world where truth is no longer admired we need to find a better way to communicate that truth. Just being blunt isn't going to work anymore.

I figure, now that I have a better grasp of my problem with politics I can now deal with it better. I believe that politics does matter but my side needs to figure out how to communicate and persuade. There is a time for bluntness, such as right after 9/11 but there also needs to be a time for persuasion. I hope the next Republican presidential candidate gets that message and I hope our current president, George W. Bush, will understand it soon. I truly believe he's a good man and has done many good things, it's just too bad most of the world doesn't know this.

Quick Note: Many of the conclusions that I've come to are not all my own. They definitely came from other people in my "Truth Seeker" group. I've just concluded that they now apply to me.

UPDATE: I was just reminded by one of our group members about how Ronald Reagan performed in the 80's. He was hated but stuck to his guns and the walls of communism in Europe came tumbling down. Like Reagan, Bush needs to stick to his guns on GWOT but Bush needs to communicate the optimism of Reagan also.

Posted by Tim at June 25, 2006 09:12 PM