To The President: Lead!

by Bill Murchison - December 12th, 2006 - Townhall.com

Wasn't it plain enough going in? You don't need a blue-ribbon commission stuffed and dressed with Beltway eminences to tell you how to win a war.

The one thing that is clear is that George W. Bush does not have a clear plan for how to win this war. "Stay the course" for a plan that others suggested to him is not a substitute for leadership. Does anyone remember Ronald Reagan and Reykjavik, Iceland? Reagan disavowed every single one of his advisers and made his own decision about how to win the cold war. Reykjavik was the proof he knew what he was doing. Reagan won the cold war.

Bush has no clue how to win this war. He is looking for a consensus among his advisers. Based on this, he would have lost the cold war . . . . . . and he is losing the war in Iraq.

It is not the role of a President to have his advisers tell him what to do. It is not the role of a President to wait until there is a consensus. It is the role of a President to lead. Talking with people is fine. But at some point you have to make a decision. Sometimes you need to change course. But you cannot manage by consensus. We don't need a President for that. Our form of government was designed to recognize that in times of crisis we need one person to lead. That is why one man, the President, is given as much power as the entire legislative body. One man George. You.

This President, George W. Bush, is as clueless as his daddy. Our nation is paying the price.