"My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse or will; The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won" --Walt Whitman (from O Captain! My Captain!)

The news is all about how "accepting" the blame for the botched speech is okay with George W. Bush. It is so nice to realize that words can be "blamed" on someone -anyone- but the one who uses the words. Following the logic of the "blame" routine leads me down an interesting path.

If all George W. Bush does, is read prepared speeches written by others, vetted by others, put onto ready to read scrolling devices for the lips of the President, does that make the one that utters the words a puppet -a void and vacuous being whose only purpose is to mouth the threats and words of others?

If our illustrious President will not take the responsibility for the content and context in which his words are spoken -and spoken in a Constitutionally proscribed duty- then this person does not deserve to be called the "leader of the free world."

As of July 11, 2003, we had, as a nation, sustained the loss of two hundred and twelve men and women in the act of war -a war that was whipped into being by the words of George W. Bush and his administration.

Descriptions of "mushroom clouds" within the borders of the United States, descriptions of tons of weaponized biological and bacterial materials, descriptions of unending horror at the hands of Saddam Hussein have been placed in the psyche of each and every citizen by the members of George W. Bush's cabinet and crew.

If George Tenet was responsible for standing in front of the Congress and the public on January 28, 2003, and uttering words of terror, then a "I accept the blame" statement is not enough.

If, eight days later, Colin Powell decided that those words should not be used by him in his testimony before the United Nations, was it because Colin Powell understood the gravity of lying under oath? Did George W. Bush not understand that by using those words in a Constitutionally mandated speech before Congress that he, too, was under oath?

This lie had been exposed -this forged document regarding uranium from Niger- long before January 28, 2003. This lie was further exposed before March 20, 2003 -the date that George W. Bush launched "shock and awe" on the Iraqi nation.

This administration has ignored the truth at each and every turn and has stolen the sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, daughters, wives, sisters and mothers of our fellow citizens. There will be children that will grow up without fathers or mothers.

Donald Rumsfeld has said that the losses since May 1, 2003, (the day that George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished" from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln) are militarily insignificant. Each and every day, we have lost at least one more of our service men or women. I am certain that their families do not view their loss as "insignificant."

George Bush and Tommy Franks have called for those that attack us to "bring 'em on." How easy and safe it must be for all of us here in our 'secured' borders to just wait for the day's numbers to be announced. Two die in landmine accidents, three die of complications from wounds, five die in an exchange of gunfire. My heart aches for each and every loss. Temperatures ranging from 100 to 110 degrees cannot bode well for an entire population who cannot depend on electricity to keep their food from spoiling and their waters from being polluted.

We are now told that the cost of the war will be Four Billion Dollars ($4,000,000,000) each and every month and that we will be there for at least four years. My calculations come to one hundred ninety-two billion dollars ($192,000,000,000), not counting the loss of life for the American people and others.

We have someone in our highest office who will not take responsibility for his words. Do you think that George W. Bush will take responsibility for the rest of what he has created? George W. Bush demanded that our Congress give him the power to decide who, where and when our military would make this "pre-emptive" attack. George W. Bush demanded that we ignore the reservations of other nations on the United Nations Security Council. George W. Bush ordered the attacks. George W. Bush is responsible.

Copyright (c) 2003 by the News Insider and Bridget Gibson

Bridget Gibson, a regularly published columnist in her hometown paper in Missouri, has long been an activist and champion of civil liberties. She successfully sued the City of OKC, OK for violating its City Charter by allowing oil well drilling in residential neighborhoods in 1983. She worked as a portfolio analyst for the FDIC during the S&L scandals of the 1980's to save the taxpayers' money which was being swindled by corporations. For the past two years, she has written extensively for online publications regarding the current administration's malfeasance.

© 2003 Topplebush.com
August 11, 2003