The ego of a president...

War, the fulfillment of an ego trip?

Is our president on one big ego trip? President Bush is “Commander in Chief,” of our military as reflected in the Constitution. One major problem however is that he believes he has the right to initiate wars. I disagree with his interpretation of his authority in this respect. For some obscure reason he also likes to make frequent reference to the fact that he is the "Commander in Chief". I sometimes get the impression that he is on an ego trip and just enjoys using the title; just as he enjoyed landing on the aircraft carrier in flight gear. I have read that the framers of the Constitution took the position, Commander in Chief, from the British military, which denoted the highest-ranking official in a theater of battle. In other words, this position is meant to be nothing more than the senior general or admiral of the military; the one who is responsible for command and control of the military forces.

It is a dangerous precedent to give President Bush, or any other president, the authority to initiate war. Our nation cannot afford to give any single individual this authority. The start of a war for personal reasons (ego or profit) is far too easy for someone lacking in either stability, maturity or intelligence.

President Bush has been unable to function with even minimum effectiveness in his position as "Commander in Chief". He has demonstrated a lack of "leadership", not only with the Iraqi war but with national concerns as well. To give him, or any other president, the authority to initiate war would be a disaster. If Bush had held a comparable position in industry and functioned as he has during his tenure as president he would have been fired long ago.