To all Americans: Is this why nothing gets done anymore by our leaders?
813654
Thank you for sharing your epiphany with modern day politics.  I once had the highest regard for our political powers based on what I learned from the history of our founding fathers as we all have learned and I have come to the same conclusion.  The reality of the matter is that politics is everything whether we like it or not. The stroke of a pen from a leader represents a decision for the masses even if the paperwork does not represent our thoughts and beliefs to the fullest extent. That is why we must stay on top of the game and elect our leaders as skillfully as possible.  Knowing your political roots and being able to distinguish between the issues is a self taught philosophy that your social standing forces you to entertain.  Be patient.  Be informed.  Inform others.  We shall overcome!!
805645
Yes...just one of many "concerns". More is happening than most people realize. The US is,  of course,  working on all of it continuously. The task would be easier I'm sure....with less whining and complaining from it's own citizens.
1153342
I've learned how little time is required for a US president to completely screw up my country from top to bottom. I've learned how easy it is for a US president to transform a world (literally) of good will (immediately after 9/11) into a world of hostility, condemnation and contempt (today). I've learned that evil-minded people can defecate on our precious Constitution and tread all over our cherished rights and freedoms simply by virtue of being in power. I've learned that one pitiful excuse for a president + an incompetent ANP rubber-stamp congress = a budget surplus becoming the greatest deficit this nation has ever seen. I've learned that irrespective of the truth, the evidence and the will of the American people, a US president can declare war on a sovereign nation, causing the deaths of thousands (including over 2,500 US soldiers), the resurgence of terrorism and further overstretching our armed forces and national debt. I've learned that evil and stupid though I knew this president was, he and his criminal cronies are about on a par with hitler and his evil henchmen, which surpasses even my darkest fears when these devils first stole the office of the presidency in 2000. In short, I've learned a lot I wish I'd never have lived to see happen to my country. When does our long national nightmare finally end?
331036
On the wrong track for many reasons.  Politicians have become amoral, Americans have become complacent, people love to complain but do nothing,  a bit more than half the population votes, there is not equal representation, and I could go on for hours.  You get the point.
208143
Putting this question in the Sports category is a bit peculiar, don't you think?\n\nIt's a lot like the question itself.  Elected leaders of any country represent at best the wishes of the majority.  I don't know how things work in your country, but in America, we don't all just fall into lock-step with out leaders.  I think most of us want to believe our president will wisely lead us, but we are certainly not blind to reality.  And in light of recent events and Bush's crumbling approval rate, it appears most Americans have lost confidence in him.\n\nIf you really think all citizens of this or any nation are no more than carbon copies of their leaders, you have a lot to learn about people.
1051220
I agree with you. But since you live in America, you also must know that we are never happy. We need to b*tch about something all the time. This President makes it so easy for us to do it.  No matter what people say, this country is a great place to live. Due to the greatness of this country, we also have the privillege of saying whatever things we like about our "great" leader. \n\nOne side note: It does not matter who the president is. America will alwasy b*tch about him or her.
254523
Most of America isn't behind President Bush; because he mislead America into the War. The United Nations should have handled any problems with Iraq regardless what a fresh inexperienced President thought at the time. This was total carelessness with his approach to this or any problem that he has tried to solve. I know that he will be gone, but will the World get over the damage that the Bush administration has lead America into? These questions will only answered in time. I personally think he is insane. Hitler was insane, so was Stalin, and Saddam. I wish we could end all of this soon. Bush was a target, an open target with his politics and views. That has been the problem from the get-go. The World doesn't buy all of that NEO-CONSERVATIVE crap anymore, and they don't want it imposed on them. The Republicans have been invading a World market for some time know and these people don't like the abuse anymore than the American Working Man ever did. Their is to much footage available to access the way the American Labor market has been treated over the last 20 years. It was our labor that built America and made America a great nation. We were then models of society, and other nations wanted to model after us and get the American dream. Where is the dream today? Vote the Tyrants out in November!
1008815
If the US did nothing, we would be labeled as uncaring and evil.  We are "damned if we do, damned if we don't" and I for one am sick of it.  Why don't the other countries step up to the plate for once?  Why doesn't France throw their white flags away?
968256
As people witness acts that they are averse to, they seek alternative leadershi that speaks to their needs.  With the US being the major political and economic power in the world and affecting every part of the globe, I think that the actions of our leaders do affect who people look to for better leadership.
760164
Our greatness lies in the beginning of the Declaration of Independence that ALL men are created equal and deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of hapiness. Our leaders forgot that concept in the need to forge power for themselves and this nation. Other nations were sold out to brutal puppet governments for the sake of our prosperity and security, but in the end, they sold our security for greed, for power, for corporate interests, because people everywhere will fight for their freedom against all odds and all costs no matter how horrible. We are living now in the "reckoning". Continued hypocricy will destroy us. When America wakes up, we will save ourselves, and in that saving, will again be a great nation based on the enlightnement of our founders.
713865
no jackass. the gov't has not failed us.  What is your job?? most likely something that is unimportant to people living in the US.  maybe you should stop complaining about the gov't and get your ass over in Iraq and do something for america. dumbass
574457
Of course government is politics!  They sort of go hand in hand.  And the answer to the original question is hypocrisy, and it has to do with money and power.  Unfortunately for the US citizens, the current administration is more focused on a personal agenda than what's good for the country or the world for that matter.  My hope is that all this will inspire people to get off their lazy butts and do something, like VOTE!  All the complaining in the world won't do a good if everybody is too lazy to take an active role in their civic duties.
507839
In a word, apathy. We no longer take the time or the effort to care of what's going on around us. If it's not an immediate threat to us or surroundings, we choose to ignore it. Blame it on the greed of America, the television, or poor parenting. We are country on the brink of exstinction because no one cares enough to get up and do anything about it. Unless, of course, they're getting something out of it.
353321
Get a grip.  Executive orders have been around since the birth of the nation.  The US isn't about you or anyone else.  If you or I should die to further the cause of the US, then so be it.  And that goes for anyone else to, lest people think the USA won't get by without them.
1011800
As powerful as the lobbyist and 'powers that be' behind the scenes are, there is really nothing you or I can do but watch our freedoms erode.\n\nSure, we can be vocal and kick and scream and protest, we can sign petitions, we can call our congressman. Where has that gotten anyone, though? Slowly, piece by piece, one small thing at a time, it's still slipping away. \n\nFreedom in America has always been a relative term, anyway. Right now we are already a slave country and our masters are the central bankers who own us.
778113
United States citizens have become very passive and unwilling to fight any type of authority. \nAmericans would never "rise up" against the government no matter what it decided to do. \nWe have become lazy and complacent.\n\nFor those of you who have given me thumbs down, do you REALLY think that if armed soldiers went door to door and declared a police state that a nation of white collar workers and soccer moms who are scared to fight a traffic ticket would rise up to do battle??? GET REAL!
798971
No.\n\nRepubs are on the way out because people have finally figured out that they have nothing to offer the vast majority of Americans.