I have been amazed recently at the dissension with which people yell at the top of their lungs. From anti-war protesters, to the ever-growing number of Democratic presidential hopefuls, to all of the talking heads on television, people have been ranting about the decisions of President Bush.

I acknowledge their right to disagree; that I do not challenge. What I do challenge is the word “I” all the above people use at the beginning of every sentence.

Let me make it clear that I am not attacking their right to assemble or to have an opinion for that matter, (I am, in fact, happy that they have an opinion different than mine), nor am I attacking the people saying it. I am attacking what is being said.

The Executive Office of the Presidency, similar to the one I worked at last semester, is not easy. Recently, I have heard more people try to explain what they would do if they were President. They present an over-simplified, clear vision: a two-story, four-car garage house for every American, no threat of war with anyone on the globe and government surpluses in amounts that we have never dreamt of.

I reject the idea that presidential decisions are easy. The tone in which those ideas are delivered imply a sense of superiority over the current president’s decision making.

I believe that even if President Bush had done everything according to the Democratic strategy, those same Democrats would strongly oppose President Bush simply because he is a Republican. We must realize that President Bush is our elected leader at this time in history. If, at the end of four years, we believe that he did not do the job to our standards, then we can vote for another candidate. It is democracy at its finest.

President Bush took office at the beginning of a recession, was given a severely under-funded military and intelligence community from the previous administration and was handed a nation which was split almost 50-50. He would continue to see the recession deepen as a result of the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. He was also given the task of tracking down the terrorists responsible for the attacks and the countries that harbored them. He now faces war with Iraq.

Because voting U.S. citizens believed in him, Bush now willingly sits in the Oval Office confronting life-and-death decisions, and some people still have the gall to protest against him. I do not proclaim to have anything resembling an answer for the current problems facing our nation, but President Bush is my leader, and he has more information on how to make his decisions than I do.

Why didn’t millions of people all over the world protest the Taliban and al Qaeda after 9/11? Why don’t millions of people all over the world protest against the oppressive regime in Iraq? Why don’t millions of people all over the world protest against North Korea developing nuclear weapons? Why don’t millions of people all over the world protest against the attack that killed 17 sailors on the U.S.S. Cole, the attack that killed over 200 Marines in Beirut, the assassination of the U.S. Ambassador in Jordan and the terrorist attacks on an airliner over Scotland and Queens? Where were the peace signs then?

Shawn Franklin is a senior economics and marketing major from Stanton.