Letter: Bush’s popularity stunning under circumstances

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2002 | 9:05 a.m.

I am continually amazed by the polls which show that the majority of the responders believe President Bush is doing a good job.

George W. Bush was sworn in as our 43rd president on Jan. 20, 2001. One only has to look at the comparison of the state of the nation then and compare that with where our nation is today.

We are waging a war in Afghanistan that is showing very little progress after its initial successes. Meanwhile the president is talking about entering an even larger conflict with Iraq -- a potential war that our friends and allies oppose. Our standing among nations has gone from world leader to "Big Brother" with a big stick.

People are losing confidence in our business leaders as the scandals of corporate greed and fraud grow with each passing day. This is while the president and vice president stonewall all efforts to examine their activities while they were executives raking in millions. His much-heralded tax cut has helped only the rich get richer as our nation's balance sheet shows us going from surpluses to deficits.

Progress that had been made in the environment by previous administrations has been rolled back. Treaties that were negotiated in the past are being ignored or repudiated. Our relationship with other nations, other than Great Britain and Israel, has deteriorated. It is as if this administration had set off on a course to isolate us from the rest of the world by a series of heavy-handed actions.

Given this, and the arrogance of the administration on all issues, I do not understand the continued public support for what in my view is a president with policies that can lead to economic collapse, isolation from the world community and the ultimate fall of our nation.

RAYMOND HARBERT