Try not to look too far ahead, but keep your eyes on the future.

I received this response yesterday, "It really is amazing how much you will defend and make excuses for the president"

What's amazing to me is how anyone could say this about me. Looking at my blog or reading countless replies to the blogs of others' you should be able to see a pattern. Yes, I am a conservative, yes, I believe in and agree with many of the things the President has done. However, it also should be apparent that I agree with many of the things that the more liberal bloggers say. I used to be a card carrying semi-liberal Democrat. Do I defend the President? Yes. But not always and not mindlessly. I do have a thinking working brain, I think.

There are quite a few things that I don't agree with the President on. Need a list:
-He messed up by not sending initially more troops to Iraq
-He messed up by not demanding his generals to be tougher in the war
-He spends way too much approving every little thing the Republicans and Democrats ask for. He never uses his line-item veto power.
-He signed the McCain-Feingold law
-He doesn't stand behind the judicial nominees he sends to Congress
-He didn't fire CIA director, George Tenet who has a very bad track record.
-He doesn't hold enough press conferences to let us know what he's doing
-He has been terrible with regards to the border with Mexico and Canada
-His immigration proposal is too bad for words.
-He signed bills on Education and Medicare which I think go too far and are too expensive as are bills for prescription drugs.
-He hasn't done his best to make the tax cuts permanent
-He makes too many appeasments to the left when he knows they will not reciprocate
-I do not want a complete ban on stem cell. I think stem cell research is vital.
-He didn't have the Afghanistan opium fields destroyed when he had the chance. He allowed them to regrow.
-He has flip-flopped on supporting Israel's stances on terrorism. Even though their fight is the same as ours, the President has not treated their methods equally to his doctrine.
-He lets foreign leaders, and domestic opponents run their mouth off about him and the US. Maybe that's a good thing though. Maybe he's more man than I am.
-I don't think his cabinet had a good enough post-Saddam strategy
-He is keeping Cheney on his ticket even though I think he is not a liability but not an asset either.
-Some of the members of his cabinet stink. Secty of Transportation Mineta is awful. Christine Whitman? Let's not get started.
-Lately he has sounded very dour. I know there is a war on but the job of a leader is to lift up our spirits. I don't mean he needs to sound gleeful, or giddy just positive. Very much like Reagan or Clinton.

My point is I can't defend him. On the issue with Iraq I agree with liberal views that Bush isn't doing the right job. I believe he should be tougher while they may think that we should get out or not be there at all or involve the UN. So from their point of view I'm defending him.

In the end this President is likable, sincere, and has had a great vision on the war on terror. Although not implemented with the best strategy I think he has done a good job for America. I believe that the things I hated about his dad, do not reside in him. I believe he believes in the things he says and not just to be the best liked guy on the block. I believe he is mostly consistent with his viewpoints (excluding the items mentioned above). He has a good sense of humor, love of America's core values. He is pretty much a straight shooter without tooting his own horn. As a conservative, I like the fact that he has taken away most of the issues liberals have with our government. As a conservative, I hate the fact that he has given liberals most of what they want (though not to the extreme they would've liked).

I think he deserves a second term. I didn't say this about his dad who I thought was not a good leader. I didn't believe Bob Dole deserved to win. I don't vote republican all the way down the line. Each candidate's attributes are weighed as best as I can.

I know you may think of full of it, that I'm a "right-wing" nut. Maybe I am. But I'm not black and white. Lots of gray. But it may be a very dark gray.

Thanks for your time and your responses.