EDITORIAL – Bush ignores wishes, needs of U.S.

This fall, Democratic candidates swept the midterm elections, regaining control of both the… This fall, Democratic candidates swept the midterm elections, regaining control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, in what was described by many – including President Bush – as a referendum on both the Republican leadership and the War in Iraq.

As a response to the large thumpin’ his party received, Bush vowed to answer the public’s wishes, pledging to work with both parties to begin to develop a new plan for Iraq.

Now, more than two months after the president offered us a change in Iraq, he has gone against the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, the majority of Congress and – most importantly – the majority of the American people, by deciding to send an additional 21,500 combat troops to Iraq.

The president, along with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, defended his decision by insisting that increasing support in Iraq will help to quell the current cycle of violence, which will, in turn, expedite the day that we will be ready to bring troops home – a tactic which has as much of a chance of backfiring as it does succeeding in bringing an end to the Iraq conflict.

Members of both parties in Congress were outraged by the new plan during a meeting with Rice yesterday, holding the current administration accountable for both its failed policy in Iraq and its current inability to begin a troop withdrawal.

President Bush’s new Iraq policy is not his only recent action that has gone against the majority of the American people and Congress.

In the past week, the new Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has passed legislation approving federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, as well as a bill approving an increase in the minimum wage. The president opposes both of these measures.

Bush has promised to veto the stem cell bill, which failed to pass with a two-thirds majority – the necessary amount of votes to override a veto. The minimum-wage bill, however, passed with a large enough majority to override a veto.

By deciding to escalate the number of troops in Iraq and by opposing the stem cell research and minimum wage legislation, the president has chosen to unilaterally ignore a public mandate for a shift of focus and policy both at home and abroad.

Furthermore, Bush’s policies have not only prioritized his own interests over what Americans want, but also what they need.

The Bush administration-designed-and-implemented strategy in Iraq has come at the cost of thousands of American lives, yet he remains opposed to the removal of cells from human embryos – that would be discarded in fertility clinics anyway- that would be used to develop cures for diseases such as cancer.

Globally, Bush’s refusal to allow any type of federally funded embryonic stem cell research has put the United States behind in medical research and technology.

Our minimum wage – among the lowest in the world – is also embarrassing.

Bush expects Americans to be world leaders and security watch dogs, yet because of his decisions, we are slowly watching both our economy and science developments slip below those of other countries.

If President Bush’s decision to escalate the number of troops in Iraq comes from some desperate attempt to mend his broken legacy, it is too late, and too risky. It is time to make a change in Iraq and in our domestic policy, and unfortunately President Bush is the only one who doesn’t see this.