Who's really pretending here? You try to dismiss the facts you cannot face calling them "far off the scale." Let's not play word games. Facts are not liberal, left, moderate, or middle. Facts remain facts. Labels don't fool anyone who can read and think.

How has Bush failed us?
Let us count the ways.

Anyone who can read today's headlines - or last week's or last year's - knows we are correct and Bush is wrong. Moreover, all known facts prove Bush is lying about his failed domestic and international policies.

Bush's economic chicanery failed. Where is the stimulus? Where are the new jobs? For that matter, where are the MILLIONS of jobs Bush squandered even with the most expansionist Monetarist and Fiscal and budgetary policies ever?

Bush failed in Iraq, as proven by the scores of American deaths since he declared "Mission accomplished" and underscored by the horrible events of today. Where are the WMDs? Where are the links to al Qaeda? Where is the evidence Bush, Cheney, Rice and Powell claimed they had in hand long ago?

More Americans voted against Bush than rejected anyone else in US history. As usual, Americans were correct. Bush is illegitimate and he's unqualified as he's proving by failing home and abroad. Bush's facile lies about fostering a beacon of democracy ring hollow to victims of his Patriot Act and Ashcroft's witch hunts.

Bush the "humble uniter"

Who is a worse hypocrite than Bush who promised a "humble" foreign policy based on coalitions but alienated most of the planet with the petulant arrogance of a spoiled brat instead?

Bush "the uniter" managed the impossible. He united historic rivals Russia, France and Germany ... against us. He's now uniting the Sunni and Shia in Iraq ... you guessed it.

People, nations and religious factions who can't agree on anything else, who have been at each others' throats for generations, agree on just one thing. They hate Bush enough to harm Americans.

Bush opened every Pandora's Box in sight. He threw gasoline on the fire in the Middle East, loudly walking away from the peace process. Years later, his "Roadmap" is too little too late and today's bus bombing in Israel is a part of Bush's bloody legacy, as is today's bombing in Baghdad.

Bush alienated the civilized world by siding with Libya, Iraq, and other rogue states opposing a treaty against weapons of mass destruction. Then he lied about knowing where WMDs were in Iraq, and lied claiming we had to attack to prevent their use. Months later he still can't find them.

Bush the oily liar

Bush is an oily liar who campaigned blaming Clinton for the Republicans blocking his energy policy. Three years later, Bush still doesn't have an energy policy himself. Instead, he has a shameful record of favoring exploitation and corporate criminals over conservation and common sense.

The recent massive electrical meltdown is just a small part of Bush's failure. He promised to fix our energy situation and hasn't even tried. Instead, he blocked Congressional efforts to upgrade the power grid.

We need to explore alternative energy, both to protect the climate and free us from entanglements with pro-terrorist states like Saudi Arabia. Instead, Bush is hyping wasteful misuse of carbon-based fuels and even invading nations to set up petrol-pawns for Halliburton and UNOCAL.

Instead of meeting with the Anti-Terror Task Force, Dick Cheney met with Enron to plot energy piracy several (Cheney refuses to comply with laws requiring disclosure of how many) times. Bush fired the Republican Chairman Hebert from the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), and handed the power to prevent the Enronization of our energy policy to Ken Lay's hand-picked chairman. Then Bush lied about knowing his pal "Kenny Boy."

Environmental scientists unanimously warn of global warming. Bush flip flops on even admitting the global warming problem exists, and refuses to work within the flawed but functioning Kyoto Global Warming treaty process. This angers and insults our allies and jeopardizes lives.

More people died from the heat in France recently than died from terrorism on 9/11. Bush's allies on the lunatic hypocristian right claimed this was divine punishment for French resistance against Bush's catastrophic Iraq policies. What about our American troops suffering under the heat there? Who is punishing them? Allah?

By supporting shameful right wing vindictiveness, Bush divides us from our allies and from each other. If Bush's dishonesty weren't fatal for brave Americans and others, it might even be risible.

Is it possible to fail worse in more ways than Bush has? I can't imagine how. The oddest thing is when people try to defend failed liar Bush. Anyone with any sense, a bit of information, and an ounce of integrity predicted all of this.

Leading up to Bush's mad rush to war, several former Secretaries of State, former Generals, former intelligence officials, and former weapons inspectors disagreed with Bush. Many predicted everything that's happened. An easy "win" in the war, and the "peace" from hell.

Most economists also predicted Bush's economic policies would fail just as they've done. Millions of Americans are out of work in large part because Bush lied about his policies.

The record high surplus is gone, replaced by crushing deficits. Bush lied about this, too claiming his deficits would be small and short-term. Bush also lied claiming he would never push today's problems onto future generations. Bush has done that by neglecting infrastructure, looting trust funds, and squandering our money on lavish gifts for his corporate cronies.

Pride and Politics

Your efforts to define people who show more courage and know more than you do only demonstrate your lack of confidence in your position. It's never credible to dodge the facts and go after people instead. While calling someone liberal is a compliment, it's still an ad hominem fallacy. No one can "win" a debate by running away from the facts and labeling the other person this way.

If you could debate with reason based on facts, you'd do so. Clearly you can't. This proves it's you - not we - who lack the courage of convictions. Also, your clumsy ad hominem "debate" shows your understanding of politics is as deficient. Especially regarding the Great American Vital Center tradition. Bush is far outside that tradition, and he's betraying our proud legacy.

Exposing the fatal flaws in Bush's "positions" is almost too easy, so stop your nonsense and your word games. Put away the Dymo labeler and pick up some good books. An informed, intelligent voter is a Vital Center liberal voter, and a proud pro-American. If you work at it, we think you can get there. Maybe then you can "start being proud of who you are."