David Brooks, who recently joined the small group of editorial columnists writing for the NY Times, divided the Democrats into three groups. Carefully making all three sound just like nursery rhyme characters he cast them as the good, the bad and the ugly. According to Brooks the heroes in the Democratic Party all went along with Bush on the vote for 87 Billion for Iraq. That may make them people with whom I disagree but it will not make them either heroes or villains with most of us. Nor do any of his policies turn this President into a man I hate. I vehemently disagree with his cronyism and his abuses of the truth about our economy, our military power and our environment. I dislike much of what his programs reveal about his character. I abhor his proud disdain for his critics and decry his vain use of the people's patriotism and support as the refuge of a scoundrel as befits such things. But hatred is too strong an emotion to use on such a man. It should be reserved for extremes of anger only felt toward those who threaten ones we love and would demolish our lives without a second thought.

I think that this President is a symptom of our epidemic confusion about how to use "Modern American Power". This is the power that has only descended upon us since the fall of Communism. It is the power of the American dollar and the huge US economy. We have enjoyed this position of power since the mid-eighties, and we may continue to enjoy it for another two or three decades. Or, if this President turns out to be as bad for the nation as some of us think, our power may fade quickly. It may vanish far sooner than it might have under someone less likely to be bold where caution is called for and angry when patience is called for. Our nation will endure and survive regardless of the outcome of this Administration. It is clear however that the nation is divided about how to use our power and wealth in the world. Most of us believe that wars of conquest are wrong, but when is a war one of conquest and when is a war one of self-defense? That can be a slippery question. A lot of us believe that Bush has used the slippery nature of that question to hide a war of conquest as a war of self-defense.

The ten trillion dollar US economy is strong enough to pay for the war in Iraq but it may be strained by a war against Islam. It will be strained especially if we compound our mistake in Iraq with mistakes in Korea and Iran and other places that beckon to the neocons. We are in a national debate about our future in a world where we are envied and not loved at all. Hatred has little place in such debates but if there is any of it around it is the hatred of the Bush Administration for all who voice opposition that threatens us most.

David Brooks appears to be the conservative in waiting for the throne of the grand old conservative writer for the times William Safire. If he is going to enjoy the long life and authority of Safire he is going to occasionally have to write about what is good for the nation from a less partisan perspective than we have seen thus far. It is not in the parties that our future will be found here in this nation but in the actions of people who put the interests of the American people above their allegiance to party and their own social class. It is in the actions of men like Lincoln, both Roosevelts and both Adams that such an ability to rise above the fray is seen. The first Bush Presidency exhibited few of those traits but given a second term it might have improved. This Presidency lacks any of the traits of a great President. In the light of 9/11, and with our reputation as world leaders in search for justice and peace on the line, this Presidency is a disaster thus far. Given a second term it could become cataclysmic. It is that problem that Democrats opposed to the war are voicing in their votes against giving this President more money and power to waste. It is not hatred but fear of the outcome of this tiny venal mans leadership that propels their voices. Listen to the people's voices David, and learn what it is to be a true conservative about using this nation's power unwisely. God bless and keep you all safe in these times when fear still prevails and hatred of us all is growing fast outside of our borders.