All wars are wars of choice.

Even self-defense is a choice. And aggression…that’s certainly a choice.

In the U.S., we really have to sell it, too. The people don’t choose to go to war easily, and Congress doesn’t either. War is a big deal.

That’s why 2003 was so shocking. There was no real debate. Democrats let Bush’s party have their way, even signing on to an open-ended authorization that could be twisted into meaning indefinite, perpetual war with anyone.

So, Mr. President, your war was a choice.

And since God doesn’t call people to go to war, to make war, to start war, you weren’t ordained to go to war.

You chose to go to war. And it is time you dealt with your choice. What are the repercussions to choosing to go to war? The war itself.

Mr. President, you aren’t a soldier. Neither was your former top man at the Pentagon. Or your second in command. At the same time, you show no compassion, mercy, or dignity as a man that has made such a choice. You are not a military strategist, so as “commander-in-chief”, your qualifications appear to be lacking. You have no sociology, psychology, cultural studies, political science, anthropology, or religious training, so you don’t seem qualified to deal with the ramifications of war. What you are, is a business man. One with a history of failure. Those are your qualifications. As the puppet president, you have failed the American people in every conceivable way: you created more bureaucracy in Washington (Homeland Security), consolidated more power (New Intelligence Czar), you made prescription drugs, health care coverage, and education more alienating, your tax cuts hurt the economy and disproportionately benefit the wealthy, you compromised the struggle to protect the environment (the first bill you signed protected arsenic producers!), you have shown virtually no skill in diplomacy, you have made the entire planet more dangerous, and I haven’t even touched on your wars of choice or your addiction to killing people.

But perhaps your worst crime is being a weasel [no, I don’t mean literally—I recognize that you are a human being—it’s what we English majors call a metaphor; ask Laura]. You only see strength in abstinence, rude behavior, equivocation, disinformation, secrecy, deceit, compromising your opponents and the playing field, lying, blind allegiance, authoritarian control, and in titles and stereotypes. The world is not black and white, Mr. President. Your political opponents are not your enemies and they don’t aid terrorists when they suggest your economic policies suck. Your tenure in office has done more damage to the United States than any in the 20^th Century (and that includes Reagan’s S&L bailout—but that has nothing to do with you, right Mr. Bush?). All of these things were your choice. You chose to be the bully in both elections. You chose to respond to a criminal act with all of the fury of the American military in the bloodiest and most violent overreaction in recent memory. In doing so, your choice has exposed the flaws in our military might. Where would Iran’s nuclear program had we not invaded Iraq? Might we actually be able to threaten them?

Mr. President, you cooked the books. Own up to it. You lied to us. Admit the truth. Admit that you made a choice. No one believes it was the right choice anymore, so stop trying to convince us. I ask you to respect the office enough to show some guts as the leader—stop hiding behind the office. Maybe you looked at Pres. Clinton and said “if people think he desecrated the office, I can one-up him!” If so, congratulations, Mr. President, you have single-handedly made a world-wide mockery of the most visible symbol of democracy and undermined its credibility with your personal devotion to fascist-style leadership. But then again, that was your choice to make.*

*Make sure to thank Katherine Harris again; you sure have a lot to thank her for.