Editor,
In response to Dave Bergeron's letter to the editor in Tuesday's issue of the Daily Lobo, I would refer him - and President Bush for that matter - to the words of the great wartime leader, Harry Truman.
In his farewell address to the American people, Truman stated that "the president - whoever he is - has to decide. He can't pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job."
Indeed, a plaque on Truman's desk famously read, "The Buck Stops Here."
This succinct, honest and powerful statement cuts through Bergeron's arguments deflecting responsibility from Bush for events that occurred during his presidency. These excuses wither in the face of that statement, and it should be taken to heart by all who would rise to lead our country.
In stark contrast, spin, scapegoats and secrecy are the hallmarks of the Bush administration and its apologists in the face of disaster. Sadly, and without much difficulty, one imagines Bush's plaque reading "The Buck Stops Over There," an arrow pointing in the opposite direction of the president, who at the whiff of trouble has slipped out the window and is scampering across the White House lawn toward Crawford, Texas.
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The Bush presidency is the antithesis of Truman's dictum of responsibility, and right or wrong, Democrat or Republican, our country deserves better.
David Estes
UNM staff
