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This article focuses on the use of torture against detainees by the United States, and proposed bans against it. The issue of whether or not the U.S. should use torture is inescapable with the introduction of the McCain Amendment banning all torture. U.S. President George W. Bush has vowed to veto any ban on torture. The author says that torture is wrong because it is the polar opposite of freedom, for which the U.S. claims to stand for.

Offers observations on the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on conservatism in the United States. Expansion of U.S. government during wartime; Differences in politics between neoconservatives and supporters of U.S. President George W. Bush; Issue on which conservatives may have to change their points of view in order to conform to partisan politics, including libertarian issues; Problems of a religiously affiliated government; Pessimism of conservatives, which belies a lack of faith in U.S. citizens; Views of the author on outlook of the war on conservatism of the U.S.

Comments on the support of American politician Dick Cheney to Governor George W. Bush who publicly favored Texas's gays-only sodomy law. Refusal of Cheney to discuss the sexual orientation of his lesbian daughter Mary during interviews; Inconsistency of Cheney's stance with the Republican platform expressing opposition to special rights for homosexuals; Respect of Cheney for gay people while supporting policies that segregate them for his own personal advancement.

Presents information on political developments in the U.S. Comparison of George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1999, with the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. Brief sketch of their family life; Report on Kennedy's campaign swing in 1959; Attempt to replace a president of the opposite party who had presided over eight years of unprecedented prosperity but had come to represent the past.

A reprint of the article "Sounds of Silence" by Andrew Sullivan, which appeared in the January 15, 2001, edition of the periodical the "New Republic," is presented. The article discusses the change in culture in Washington, D.C., from the administration of incoming U.S. president George W. Bush to the administration of outgoing U.S. president Bill Clinton.

The article presents an open letter to former U.S. President George W. Bush regarding treatment of detainees during his administration. It acknowledges that atrocities occur in wartime, but refers to memos written specifically to allow torture and scrap adherence to the Geneva Conventions. It notes that Bush's Christian faith deems torture an absolute evil. It calls on Bush to take public responsibility for the torture, relieving subordinates, so that the nation can move on.

Presents views of several individuals regarding the candidacy of U.S. President George W. Bush in the 2004 elections. Tucker Carlson, a television host ; Andrew Sullivan, senior editor of "The New Republic"; Tim LaHaye, president of the Tim LaHaye Ministries and cofounder of the Moral Majority.

Offers observations regarding political families in the United States that hold national political power. Bloodlines of Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush; Consequences of nepotism; View that money and celebrity are to blame for the close hereditary ties in the political system.

The article argues that President George W. Bush has quietly been making provisions to circumvent that laws passed by Congress. The president has made nearly 500 signing statements, notes attached to bills which indicate that the president has reservations about the contents of the bill he has just passed and may not honor it in the future. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito was the judge who pioneered this new use of signing statements in the 1980s.

This article takes a look at the year 2005 as a year where authority figures were questioned. The United Nations was compelled to concede that the oil-for-food program for Saddam's Iraq had turned into a massive scam. U.S. President George W. Bush was forced to withdraw his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

Presents observations about how the American people need to put an end to the anger and passion of the recent presidential election and support President George W. Bush for the sake of nation's well being. Suggestion that those who supported Senator John Kerry need to give Bush a chance during the next four years; Need for constructive criticism rather than unhelpful rhetoric and name-calling; Hopes that more Democrats will be added to Bush's cabinet than those who were appointed in 2000; Importance of supporting the President during the duration of the war in Iraq; Focus on the polarization of the two political parties due to public figures such as Michael Moore, Mel Gibson, and others.

This commentary discusses how, in the 2004 presidential race between George W. Bush and John Kerry, it is difficult to determine which candidate is the liberal and which is the conservative, based on their policies. You think there's too little federal control over education? Vote Bush. Want to expand health-care coverage primarily through the private sector? Vote Kerry. Confused yet? You're not the only one. For conservatives there's plenty to worry about in Bush's record. By any measure, the government is bigger, more powerful and more intrusive than when he found it. Domestic spending has gone up at a greater rate than under any other President since Lyndon Johnson. The President hasn't found a single spending bill he wanted to veto. And he cannot even blame Congress. His own party controls all of it. In foreign policy, conservatives have long tended to be realists, acting only in response to hard-faced national interest,exercising prudence and caution, only reluctantly intervening in other countries' affairs. In office, however, spurred by 9/11, Bush has become a Kennedy-style Democrat, trying to turn two violence-wracked countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, into democracies by military force. Liberals have a few worries of their own when it comes to Kerry. He vows to continue a war in Iraq that many of them opposed. He's against gay marriage and says he will cut any new spending programs if necessary to balance the budget. In foreign policy Kerry also strikes a traditionalist tone that is not out of place among old-school, Powell-style Republicans. The question we face in this election is therefore a truly befuddling one: In a world in crisis, is there a greater risk in Bush's radicalism or Kerry's conservatism? And what do right and left mean anymore, anyway?

Presents views on how the U.S. Senate voted against a federal gay-marriage ban. Disappointment of the members of the religious right over the defeat of the Federal Marriage Amendment; Claims from religious zealots that gay marriage poses a threat to traditional marriage; Opinions of President George W. Bush on the impact of gay marriage on family life.

Profiles U.S. President George W. Bush. Why Bush is both loved and reviled; Bush's conduct leading the country following the September 11, 2001 attacks; Impact of the Iraq War on Bush's legacy; Implications of Bush's decision to shape world events; How his presidency will be measured.

Argues that the low price of gas in the United States will negatively affect the economy. Suggestion that a gas tax is needed to encourage fuel conservation and efficiency, cut traffic, and reduce pollution; How neither President George W. Bush or Presidential candidate John Kerry favors higher gas prices; Strategies to help the U.S. gain independence from the Middle East regarding its dependence on oil supplies.

Argues that Howard Dean should be the Democratic presidential nominee, not John Kerry.. Background on the views of the author, who is a Republican supporting George W. Bush; Claim that Dean displays more authenticity and liberal fervor than the other Democratic candidates, especially Kerry; Speculation that a Dean candidacy could lead to a real debate about the future direction of the country; Comparison between Dean's and Kerry's views on national security and foreign affairs; Observation that Dean, unlike Kerry, has held an executive office; Claim that Dean's life reflects much of the culture of the Blue States; Claim that the Democratic Party would benefit from Dean's conviction that Democrats should stick to their principles, not do whatever it takes to win.

Comments on social policies of the U.S. President George W. Bush administration. Attitudes of the administration toward the exercise of personal freedom; Involvement of the government in personal decisions; Reference to Bush's State of the Union address; Role of the government in building citizenship and values; Examples of government social programs; Tension in conservatism between those who favor more liberty and those who want more morality; Use of the government to impose and subsidize certain morals over others.

Provides observations about the reign of U.S. President George W. Bush and his supporters. Suggestion that Bush has led the nation to a situation of insecurity and debt; How Bush has increased federal spending; Endorsement by Bush of legislation that deals with federal endorsement; Impact of an increase in military spending; Results of a 'USA Today' poll regarding Bush's popularity.

Focuses on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his role in the war with Iraq, and relations with United States President George W. Bush. How the two men differ, but share strong Christian faith; Effort of Blair to win unanimity on the United Nations Security Council to invade Iraq; View that Blair has a role in post-war Iraq.

Provides some insights into the political ideologies of philosopher, Michael Oakeshott focusing on political developments and public administration in the U.S. under President George W. Bush. Views on activist governments; Assessment of the presidency of Bush; Issues on taxation and public finance; Politics of restraint and its influence on Bush's position on global warming; Indications of political history.

Offers observations on United States President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in their role as fathers. Suggestion that they are like dads of the 1950s; Their role of masculinity; How they foster adolescent rebellion; View that Republican leaders should add a patina of 1990s sensitivity to 1950s propriety.

Presents information on the decision of U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont to leave the Republican Party. Comparison of political career of Jeffords and the Massachusetts Representative Joe Moakley; Offer observations on changing one's political party; Analysis of the defection by Jeffords; Statement that a public revolted by politics as usual has been taught to disdain the quieter virtues of loyalty and compromise in national politics; View that the Republicans need Jeffords the same way Democrats need Georgia Senator Zell Miller; Fact that some have characterized Jefford's departure from the Republican Party as an act of principle that has helped high-light the right-wing extremism of U.S. President George W. Bush's fledgling presidency.

Focuses on taxation in the U.S. Proposal of President George W. Bush for tax cuts, through which the nation will surely be able to afford a vastly expanded Medicare drug benefit; Need for privatization of social security in order to provide retirement benefits; Discussion on government programs that exist purely to pay off political constituencies, pay for bureaucracies, and funnel pork dollars to home districts to help politicians get reelected.

Focuses on attitude of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration towards gay people. Role of the Human Rights Campaign to protect gays from hate crimes and employment discrimination; Information that gay men and women are objects of physical violence and routine oppression in the workplace; Comment on the anti-discrimination laws for gays; Abolishment of the estate tax, which discriminates against gay couples denied the right to inherit from a legal spouse; Protection of pharmaceutical research from populist assault, to maintain the progress against HIV; Ban on HIV-positive immigrants and allowing them to become citizens; Creation of the Republican Unity Coalition, a gay-straight political group.

Presents views on the power of the Senate to appoint or reject nominees to the official cabinet of the U.S. President. Mention of the failure of President-elect George W. Bush to receive a public mandate after losing the popular vote to Democratic challenger Al Gore; Constitutional right of the Senate to vet cabinet appointees considering the contentious nature of the presidential election; Bush's plan nominate Missouri legislator Richard Ashcroft to the post of attorney general.

Comments on the nomination for John Ashcroft to become the attorney general in the U.S. under the administration of President George W. Bush. Profile on Ashcroft and his political ideologies. Reputation and popularity as a politician who oppose affirmative action and hate-crime laws and who has strong religious convictions through Pentecostalism; Views on pluralism and supremacy of the law that influence the job of an attorney general; Indications of politics and public administration.

Describes the arrival of United States President George W. Bush's transition team in Washington, D.C. Comparison to the staff of former President Bill Clinton; Bush's inarticulateness as a balm after the blathering of Clinton; Cabinet of grown-up chief executive officer-style politicians more skilled and experienced than Bush is; Most structurally powerful Cabinet since President Dwight D. Eisenhower's; Reasons anyone would miss the Clinton era; Sense of entitlement; Narrowness of vision; Politics as tedious but effective management.

Discusses the staff appointment process for United States President-elect George W. Bush. Analysis that Bush has chosen his first four cabinet members based on their ethnic background; Differences between his selections and that of his father, former President George Bush; Attitude of Bush towards civil rights; Speculation on the role that race will play in future staff selections.

Discusses American politics in the aftermath of the contested 2000 United States presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Statistical tie; Gore would have won in a Platonic, ideal election; Bush would have won in any real-world practicable scenario; Americans emerged from the election with their institutions damaged and public confidence undermined.

Discusses the influence of African Americans on the political campaigns leading up to the 2000 United States presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Use of a video representing James Byrd Jr., who was dragged to death in Texas, in an advertisement issued by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to criticize Bush; Speculation that the indecision in Florida was a result of so-called racial politics; Reasons why Gore tended to gain more from the race issue than Bush.

Comments on the controversy surrounding the results of the presidential elections in the United States between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush. Election's reflection of the political mood of the country; Criticisms on the political moves of Bush in the later part of his campaign; Implications of the results on the political power of the religious right; Possible problems if Gore decided to continue his plans to challenge the results of the election; Problems with the both a Gore and a Bush administration.

Presents the author's accounts of the contested presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in Florida. Expectation of the spectators of the victory of Gore; Claim of Bush that he has not lost the election; Observation of the assured victory of Bush; Conduct of a recount of votes in the state; Plan of Gore to challenge the result of the elections.

Comments on the challenges faced in the campaign of U.S. presidential candidate Al Gore. Aggressiveness of the tone of his campaign. Citation of stance of Gore against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industry; Accusations against rival candidate George W. Bush; Evaluation of the electioneering strategy of Bush; Dispute of the assertions of Gore on the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare.

Discusses the 2000 U.S. presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush. Connection of the political inclination of Gore as liberal and his struggles in his home state of Tennessee; Comparison of Gore and U.S. President Bill Clinton; Suggestion that Gore become less liberal and more focused on a centrist point of view.

Comments on the candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court justices of the presidential candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush. Views of the author on Bush's endorsement for Antonin Scalia; Efforts of Bush to try to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision; Possible nominees of both presidential candidates; Defense of the Bush court about abortion rights; Temperament of Bush; Opinion of the author about the possible nominee of Bush.

Focuses on the differences between the plans of Texas Governor George W. Bush and U.S. Vice President Al Gore concerning the medical needs of the retirees as part of their campaign for the coming presidential election. Proposal of Gore not to reform the Medicare system; Plan of Bush to subsidize small premiums event for seniors who are multimillionaires; Dependence of the projected costs of their plans for Medicare benefits on drug prices; Percentage of increase in the median income of the retirees.

Discusses the idea of Texas Governor and presidential candidate George W. Bush on compassionate conservatism in the U.S. Intention of Bush to rally armies of compassion in the neighborhoods; Question on the need of the government to intervene in the works of these charities; Role of compassionate conservatism as a way to get government out of the social welfare business; Plan of Bush to allocate funds to private religious charities through tax breaks.

Focuses on the television show "Malcolm in the Middle," and television viewership of U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Appearance of a chaotic but loving family in the television program; Passion of father in the television program, for Porsche automobile; Observation that according to polls Gore was trailing political candidate George W. Bush by two points among women but by 15 points among married women; Insecurity felt by Bush among the cultural elite.

The article presents information related to U.S. President George W. Bush. He pledged centrist, inclusive conservatism, and yet he has supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and has courted the religious right. He is reviled for excessive rigidity, indifference to those outside his political orbit and lack of reflection and curiosity.

Offers an opinion on United States presidential candidate George W. Bush's visit to Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Comparison of the university to the Nation of Islam; Charges of racism and anti-Catholicism; Reasons that Bush should apologize to the American people for visiting Bob Jones University.

The article discusses the incidents of prisoner torture by U.S. soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It discusses the government policy on torture under the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush and examines the public reaction to views on torture. It explains that the Republican candidates for the 2008 U.S. election who support enhanced interrogation techniques did not win the primary election.

The article argues that President George W. Bush has quietly been making provisions to circumvent laws passed by Congress. The president has made nearly 500 signing statements, notes attached to bills which indicate that the president has reservations about the contents of the bill he has just passed and may not honor it in the future. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito was the judge who pioneered this new use of signing statements in the 1980s.

The article presents a personal view on deal breaking and U.S. President George W. Bush's endorsement of anti-gay discrimination in the U.S. Constitution. We all have some idea of what a deal-breaker in a relationship is. It differs with each of us. I endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2000--very narrowly. It was more an anti-Gore decision than a pro-Bush one. I really wanted John McCain to Win. I still support the president's war on terror. But it's time to say something very clearly: Bush's endorsement of antigay discrimination in the U.S. Constitution itself is a deal-breaker. Like many other gay men and women who have supported him, de spite serious disagreements, I feel betrayed, abused, attacked. This betrayal exists on two levels. First, it's a betrayal of the inclusion and compassion once promised by George W. Bush. The proposed constitutional amendment is a conscious and clear attempt to exempt gay citizens--and only gay citizens--from the equal protection of the law. It's an amendment designed to marginalize an entire minority. I would insist that the president's stance is a betrayal of conservatism as well. Civil marriage is a conservative institution in many ways. Denying it to gays is tantamount to arguing that homosexuals should always be at the margins of society, beyond its unifying institutions, outside their own families and society. And using the sacred Constitution as a political tool is also a frivolous ploy that traditional conservatives would never endorse.

This article presents the author's comments on the implications of the U.S. war against terrorism for the political fortunes of president George W. Bush. The article makes specific reference to the electoral defeat of Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during the second World War, after the war. The paradox of the war against terrorism is that the more Bush succeeds, the more politically vulnerable he gets.

Argues that Howard Dean should be the Democratic presidential nominee, not John Kerry.. Background on the views of the author, who is a Republican supporting George W. Bush; Claim that Dean displays more authenticity and liberal fervor than the other Democratic candidates, especially Kerry; Speculation that a Dean candidacy could lead to a real debate about the future direction of the country; Comparison between Dean's and Kerry's views on national security and foreign affairs; Observation that Dean, unlike Kerry, has held an executive office; Claim that Dean's life reflects much of the culture of the Blue States; Claim that the Democratic Party would benefit from Dean's conviction that Democrats should stick to their principles, not do whatever it takes to win.