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http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/10/27/bush_presidency/index.html>
This is a great article by Sidney Blumenthal, one of the great opinion writers, IMHO.
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From the start Bush ran a government based on secrecy, handed over departments and agencies to more than 100 industry executives and lobbyists appointed to key positions, and exhibited belligerence toward anyone who raised a question about his right-wing imperatives. His bullying prompted Republican Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont to cross the aisle, throwing control of the Senate to the Democrats. In just months, Bush's incompetence and arrogance had induced paralysis. His presidency had already run his course.
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All he had to do was finesse the debates. But he was humiliated in all three. Kerry, however, demonstrated clarity, intelligence and maturity. Bush's response was a new ad, featuring wolves about to leap through the TV screen. But the projection of fear only exposed his vulnerability.
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