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Apparently George was up on all the controversy I was causing. Every time I'd open my mouth, I'd be in trouble. So I thought that was a great line. He didn't care about me, he wanted to meet the woman who could put up with me!
It must have been about a year later that Bush came to visit Minnesota. I took my son, Tyrel, to meet him. The president looked Ty in the eye and said, "So can you kick the old man's butt yet?"
"Oh, no!" Ty exclaimed.
And the President said, "I can't either." Referring, I presume, to George, Senior.
From these moments, I knew that Bush had a good sense of humor. But my first inclination that he was not a man of his word came that same governors' meeting in 2001. Monday morning is a business session, where all 50 governors sit down with the president. He discussed domestic policy -- where he sees it going, what he expects from you, and what you should expect from him. He stated at the time that he was a strong believer in giving more power to the states, which I applaud. He was going to be, he said, an old-style Federalist president. I believed him.
Yet just about every move he's made since that day has taken power away from states. Cases in point: 12 states have now passed laws to allow medical use of marijuana. The federal government under Bush says no way; it won't let the states do this. Two states have voted for dignity in death. If I'm living in Minnesota and terminally ill, I could have the option of moving to Oregon and fulfill my wishes not to prolong the agony. Again, the Bush administration says, oh no, you can't.
It's a shame that Bush has turned into what he has. That deception about returning power to the states was only the first of many, the foremost being how his administration lied to the American people in justifying our disastrous invasion of Iraq. Leaving the Midland region that day, I couldn't help thinking about our dependency on oil, whether it's from the Middle East or the West Texas variety. We should be taking the billions being wasted in Iraq and putting all this money toward renewable energy sources that won't destroy the planet. We should be doing everything we can to draw energy from the sun, the wind, and the water.
Reprinted with permission from Sky Horse Publishing from Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!, by Jessie Ventura
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