From: "John Beamish" 

http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=wherehavealltheleadersgo
ne

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time
in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where
was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida
when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes
with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for
yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and
immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this
country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He
basically went into hiding for the dayƒ ”and he told Vice President Dick
Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs,
scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were
going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days
to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.

That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did
he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraqƒ ”a
road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But
Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides
himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the
crap out of you, I don't know what will.

A Hell of a Mess

So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the
history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while
our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas
prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy.
Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class
is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for
leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the
leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where
are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common
sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5