Robert Draper's new book, Dead Certain, is, in a way, a biography of the the Bush years. It takes a in-depth look into the current administration, and while there are certainly many fascinating tidbits of information from Bush, Rove and others, one statement really stood out from the rest. Here is the president's plans after he leaves the White House:
"I'll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol' coffers. I don't know what my dad gets - it's more than 50-75 thousand dollars per speech...Clinton's making a lot of money."
Is it just me or does that completely rub you the wrong way? We are in the middle of a war where American lives are being lost. There are thousands of uninsured Americans who can't even begin to take proper care of themselves or their children because they can't afford healthcare. There are hard-working young men and women who can't afford to go to college because of a terribly low minimum wage. And through all of these issues, the one thing the president wants to talk is the money he wants to make when he leaves office.
Before he was elected president, Bush was worth an estimated $21 million and makes over $400,000 a year as president. I can't even imagine how our soldiers would feel hearing this; that while they're putting their lives at risk, the commander-in-chief is thinking about ways he can make more money. Just think how our soldiers would feel if their field commanders told them, "hey, I just can not wait to get out of here and start making me some money." Soldiers would be disgusted if their commander, whose only thought should be how to keep them safe and help them to achieve their mission, was talking about leaving them and making money. I guess I just feel that there is a huge level of inappropriateness. It just sickens me to think that the man who is leading our country would rather talk about how's he's going to make money instead of talking about how he is going to make this country a better place for its citizens, both while and after he's president.
1 comment :
After how many years of seeing what the Bush idea of 'making things better for it's citizens", aren't we just lucky to get him out of office? Wouldn't "hanging around the UN" just make the US look even worse? (if that's possible...)
Let him take money from those stupid enough to give it to him. Anyone foolish enough to pay him to speak gets what they pay for.
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