Why Not Mr. Bush?

If you still can't understand why half of the American people are so adamantly opposed to the reelection of George W. Bush, let me explain.

It's not just that we feel he won the election in an unethical way with strategically located members of his party  affecting the outcome in Florida and in the Supreme Court.

It's not just that we think he is still lacking the necessary credentials- the breadth of knowledge, intellectual curiosity, experience, and sophistication to represent our country and serve as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world.

It's not just that he cleverly manipulated intelligence to get us into a war with a country whose history and culture he didn't understand and whose future he hadn't realistically planned. And, as a result, he has sacrificed the mental and physical health, if not the lives of nearly a thousand young courageous patriots who were neither adequately equipped nor sufficiently trained for their mission.

It's not just that he has always put politics above integrity by sanctioning political ads that are meant to destroy the reputations of truly brave Americans like Max Cleland and John Kerry, who actually went to Vietnam and risked life and limb for their country while he risked nothing during his time in the National Guard.

It's not just that he appears to have little interest in the truth whenever it can hurt him or his cause.

It's not just that he has created the burden of an enormous debt for our children by giving a tax break to his base - the wealthiest Americans.

It's not just that by his arrogant words and deeds he has dramatically eroded the esteem, friendship and support that America had enjoyed in much of the international community and  empowered our enemies and created more potential terrorists.

It's not just that he has shown a lack of respect for the principles and rights that since the birth of our nation we have worked hard to secure - separation of church and state; autonomy over our bodies and our bedrooms; freedom, equal rights and lawful protection for all Americans, regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnic background, or sexual orientation.

It's not just that he has directly and indirectly sanctioned the alienation of anybody who doesn't support him, his policies, and his version of family values.

It's not just that he has taken possession of the American flag and has shamelessly used it to serve his own political purposes.

It's every one of these grievances that drives us to distraction.

When we voted in 2000, even the most informed citizens couldn't have known the consequences of our actions. Now we do. There is no excuse. For the love of country, our domestic tranquility, and our posterity, I pray that every American will use his or her right to vote to choose a leader who has the desire and the potential to rescue us from our current quagmire and take us to the next and, perhaps, most critical stage of the American experiment.

When the Olympic caldron was lit by the torch that had been traveling the globe for four years, it was a signal that the time for international cooperation  and healthy competition among the athletes of the world was upon us. With the election of a new American leader in November ,we will declare that change for the better- at home and abroad is truly around the corner, and we, the people are committed to do all we can to reclaim our reputation as a country worthy of respect and emulation.

Alexis Gerard Finger