Rumors... and Bush's fear of the truth

Rumors have been afloat for weeks that Bush would try to duck out of participating in at least one of his three scheduled debates with John Kerry.

Those rumors came a step closer to reality today with an announcement by Republican officials that Bush might try to wiggle his way out of the Oct. 8 debate at Washington University.

George W. Bush is a man with a real fear of truth. He is afraid to be confronted with anything that might challenge his ideas. He is afraid to learn about the depth of his own failures.

George W. has refused to attend any of the funerals of American soldiers. He has refused to allow pictures to be taken of the coffins returning home. His handlers have protected him from actually having to witness any protesters or objections on the street against his policies. Flash a sign at Bush and you're escorted away by the Secret Service. The guy doesn't read the papers. His knowledge of history is minimal at best. He rarely traveled abroad before being elected President. His travel is limited today by fear of protests--witness his own absence at his daughters' college graduations. He didn't read the intelligence reports on WMD's before invading Iraq.

But the most telling moment during the 2000 campaign. Bush was overheard telling Cheney that New York Times reporter Adam Clymer was a "major league asshole." What had Clymer done to inspire Bush's wrath?

Clymer is the reporter who on April 11, 2000 published a major exposé of Bush's health care record in Texas. In that piece, Clymer wrote:

"Texas has had one of the nation's worst public health records for decades. More than a quarter of its residents have no health insurance. Its Mexican border is a hotbed of contagion. The state ranks near the top in the nation in rates of AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis and teenage pregnancy, and near the bottom in immunizations, mammograms and access to physicians.

But since George W. Bush became governor in 1995, he has not made health a priority, his aides acknowledge... His administration opposed a patient's bill of rights in 1995 before grudgingly accepting one in 1997, and fought unsuccessfully to limit access to the new federal Children's Health Insurance Program in 1999."

Four years later, Bush's willful ignorance continues to cost American lives. From health care to Iraq, this man is a walking disaster.