WHAT WILL HAPPEN ONCE BUSH LEAVE OFFICE

My opponent said that Bush has more power. I'm not entirely sure who my opponent believes he has more power over. A lofty squirrel? The U.S. Congress? In theory, the president is the most powerful member of the United States government. They make the final decisions, hence Bush's self-imposed nickname of "the decider." However, as I mentioned before, their actions are checked by other branches of government as well as international law. My opponent mentioned in a previous argument that Iraq was entirely Bush's fault; however, they are now saying it was not. If they agree with me in this respect, logic would reason they would agree with me in all others, as the reasoning is identical. The aforementioned reasoning is as follows: Bush is not the only representative active in the United States government, he is not the only person making decisions or proposing policies. In fact, the majority of his ideas are proposed by his cabinet and other advisers. Therefore, America's faults can not be blamed on a single figure head of an administration. Apparently my opponent would rather argue whether or not the Iraq war is appropriate rather then their original statement. My opponents original statement was (paraphrased of course) that upon Bush's departure, all of America's problems would be solved and our questions answered. My opponent agreed with me in their second argument that America's problems would not go away and that the future president faced copious challenges. My opponent posed questions pertaining to the economy and the war in their opening argument. The answers to those questions have not been secreted away in government files. The reason we are still in Iraq is because of oil. The reason gas is over three dollars a gallon is because of inflation and the fact that oil is over $100 per barrel. There are numerous reasons why the economy is "tanking," as my opponent so eloquently put it. One major reason is that before the 2004 election, the Republican-dominated congress gave businesses, small and large, subsidies to buy new vehicles. Business owners across the country strolled into their local dealership sporting their government check and purchased new vehicles. Though this may seem like an economic boost, it in fact only caused fewer companies to purchase cars that next year and the year after that. This hurt the automotive industry and therefore the American economy. This was a decision and imposition of Congress, not Bush. Unless someone is seeking classified military information, the answers they want are already available. My opponent has still failed to support their arguments, not only with evidence, but with any sort of explanation at all. Their claims have become entirely non-topical. Telling me to converse with deceased American soldiers is not only inappropriate, but irrelevant to the realms of this debate. President Bush is not responsible for every single fault in America. Though he has the power to "approve" or to "veto," he also has the possibility of being denied by Congress. The House of Representatives must approve policy, they must approve the initiation of military action. For this reason, along with the numerous aforementioned ones, Bush's departure will not save the American populous. The questions originally posed my opponent will not be answered, because they already have been. The American people, those who read the news at least, know why the economy is declining, they know why we're in Iraq, and they know that America will face hardships with or without President Bush in office. For these reasons, along with the lack of my opponents evidence, topicality, and logic, I can see no other option than a vote in negation of the proposed argument.