Well, guess I'll try to get the thread back on topic
I don't
hate Bush. Dislike, distrust, yes. Hate, no. And it's really not just Bush--I see problems with the whole Neo-con movement, and the vast majority of the Republican party.
The things that make me dislike and distrust the Bush administration:
1) The war in Iraq. I think it was uncalled for, pushed for unclear reasons, and not properly supported. I think that we
still don't have a clear plan there. I also think that it has made the world
less safe as well.
2) Massive abuse of civil rights. Guantanamo Bay. The Patriot Act. Ad nauseum.
3) Destroying the trust and goodwill of the rest of the world. After 9/11, we had the entire Western world, and much of the Eastern world, on our side. We could have sat down and done something
serious about terrorism. Instead, we told them to shove it and went into an ill-planned and reactionary war.
4) Gross mismanagement of finances. I thought Republicans were supposed to be about fiscal conservativism? The man spends like a college kid in a liquor store. Largest deficit in history. Enough said.
5) Cronyism. Mike Brown, anyone? Harriet Miers, Cheney and Halliburton, etc.
6) Pandering to big business. Pro-business economic policies are fine. Blatantly pandering to one sector or a few companies is not.
7) Religion. Bush seems intent on bringing religion into the government, courtroom, and classroom. It belongs in the church, not in the government.
8) The supreme court. I don't really have any problems with Roberts. I think maybe appointing him head justice was a bit hasty, but he seems to be an intelligent and reasoned man. But Alito is pretty far off to the right and Miers was in my opinion another cronyisitic (is that even a word?) action, and she was in no way qualified to sit on that court.
9) The environment. I love the outdoors, and I think this administration has been one of the most backwards thinking administrations in terms of the environment we have ever seen.
10) Katrina. People act like Bush was responsible for the hurricane itself, which is clearly ridiculous. But he
was slow to act, and once he did, did so (I thought) half-heartedly. And don't forget Brown. I still can't get over that; cronyism at it's worst.
So that's pretty much it. That's most of why I don't like Bush and his administration. Not irrational, I have very set and clear reasons why I don't like what he's done.