RESOLVED: George Bush should be regarded as America's best President

It is true that Bush knew that 9/11 was the work of terrorists. The fact is anyone who had a tv turned on (and I dare say that almost everyone in the world who did own a tv had it turned on on 9/11) would have realised that it was the work of terrorists as soon as the second tower got hit. But that aside, Bush knew more. Bush knew more because Bush had been warned about a strong possibility of Al Qaeda striking on US soil. Bush knew about the possibility of planes being used as "bombs". Bush knew about Al Qaeda's plan to do something drastic very soon. He had been briefed on these things. The only question he asked was "If we take out Bin Laden, will that alleviate the threat?" All this is in the official 9/11 report. I recommend it to my opponent. It's good reading. One of the conclusions in the report is that the terrorists exploited a gap in US intelligence. Simply put, those responsible for overseas intelligence looked for threat overseas. Those responsible for domestic intelligence looked for threats domestically. No one expected that a domestic threat could originate from overseas. It was a spectacular systemic failure and Bush was at the top of the administration at the time. It was Bush's failure. His reaction to 9/11 was nothing extraordinary. If Mickey Mouse was President at the time he would have reacted in the same way (although perhaps would have left that classroom as soonn as the news arrived rather than finish the session with the kids first... after all Mickey Mouse is a mature character)." Are you insinuating that Bush has skills rivalling Nostrusdamus? Although Bush is perfect, he is still human, unfortunately. You seem to think that Bush can see into the future, which, in itself, is preposterous. Bush, with the intelligence and knowledge he had at his disposal, made the perfect decision. "Bush had no standing to negotiate with Iraq. The issue (which was weapons of mass destruction at the time) was not Bush's issue. It was not America's issue. The issue existed on an international level. It involved the UN. It involved weapons inspectors. Blix, you may recall, begged Bush for one more chance to conduct inspections. Bush brushed him off. Against international public opinion, against NATO, against the Security Council of the UN, Bush recruited his friends from the UK (who subsequently expressed their regret about this) and went into Iraq off his own bat. He had no business there. His actions in attacking a sovereign country on the pretense of (non-existent!) weapons of mass destructions were a breach of international law. He subsequently admitted that Iraq was a "miscalculation"." America's safety should be valued over international privacy. If we open doors, then why can they close theirs? Their hypocritical refusal to negotiate or to allow inspections was there fault, and there is no proper reasoning behind such action. "I would like my opponent to point me to some sources regarding the exit alleged strategy. As far as I'm aware US forces are still in Iraq and are getting killed. In fact, many more have died after the war "was over" than during the war." Iraq's leader has been killed and the country has been occupied. The war is over. The civil unrest that is going on is merely an annoyance and a slight repercussion of there animal-like behavior in third world countries. Our troops still being stationed there is only an action of courtesy to help insure that Democracy is instilled. "I fail to see how the world has improved after Bush's 2 terms. Please assist." War theory has advanced through Bush's actions and tactics. Bush has incited what will be a new era of global democracy as seen with Iraq. "I invite my opponent and those watching the debate to peruse the following site: http://www.pollingreport.com...... My opponent would have us think that all of these polls are biased. He also seems to take issue with methods employed in public opinion polls. Of course they can't survey every single American. They take a sample. They calculate margins of error. They publish those margins. Usually they're less than 2.5%. These statistical methods have withstood the test of time. They are employed universally. I invite my opponent to point me to a non-biased source of public opinion polls regarding Mr Bush's ratings as President. I take it my opponent takes issue with CNN's reports as well (http://edition.cnn.com......)" A poll is inherently invalid in a formal debate. This is because it can not truely gauge the general consensus unless every single person votes. If I don't vote, that poll is useless to me. That is why everyone thinks Bush is not liked, but the Pro Bush advocates for his perfection don't vote because we believe that polls are a waste of time and that our vote is not needed. "It is interesting that my opponent assumes that: a) I live in America b) I have not been to a country other than America Neither is true. I have travelled to a number of countries. However, as conceded by my opponent in round 2, the question of whether the USA is the "greatest nation" is not relevant in this debate. I'll be happy to debate that topic separately if challenged." And what did you see? Poverty. Despair. Suffering. But what didn't you see? Happiness. Excitement. Prosperity. America is far beyond the economic and social capacity of any other nation; therefore, America is the greatest nation. "I challenge my opponent to provide some evidence for the above contention. I have provided, in my first post, statistical evidence taken from the US Census (a source that carries some weight, one might argue, even for as strict a critic as my opponent) regarding the levels of well-being of Americans during the two terms of Mr Bush. I have shown that these standards have fallen markedly. I now provide one more source:" Please look above, or just simply compare and contrast the current state of other countries to America. "Among all Americans, 19% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 76% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 17% approve and 78% disapprove. " (source: http://americanresearchgroup.com......)" I already stated why polls are invalid. If you would like me to go into far more detail please say so. "Awaiting my opponent's response." Awaiting my opponent's response.