Prepare for disappointment

My, my, my. I knew my column announcing there would be no honeymoon
for George W. Bush would be unpopular, but I had no idea just how angry
his supporters would be.

Kendall L. David of Rock Island, Ill., didn't mince any words.

"Well, Mr. Farah, I just decided not to read your website any
longer," he wrote. "I just read your commentary on Dubya's speech, and I
am very disappointed in you. We have had eight years of criminal
behavior in the White House, and your first commentary is to slam our
'Great Hope' for a better administration. Thanks for nothing. Your site
will not be visited by me in the future."

First, let me make one thing clear: There is no doubt in my mind that
George W. Bush's administration will be better in many ways than the
reign of terror conducted by Bill Clinton and Al Gore in the last eight
years.

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No one understands better than I just how bad the Clinton regime has
been. I've covered it for eight long years. I have been personally
victimized by its vindictive, criminal behavior. But surpassing the
Clinton years is, from my point of view, a very low standard by which to
measure the incoming administration.

Mike C. Sheldon wrote, "Where the heck were you eight years ago? If
the press gave Clinton a 'pass' on criticism for eight years, were you
one of them?"

Where was I? I was doing my job, exposing Clinton from Day 1. My
thanks was an Internal Revenue Service audit that nearly bankrupted my
organization. My offices were broken into, my phone was tapped, my
reporters and editors were exposed to all manner of harassment and
intimidation. Where was I? I might ask: Where were you?

Yom Blumer of Mason, Ohio, had this to say: "As I wrote to you
immediately after the GOP convention, you seem to be more happy to stand
on principle and lose than to see the better guy win the election."

Guilty as charged. I will always stand on principle. I will always
tell you the truth. I will always do my job as a journalist and
muckraker, no matter who is in power. And I won't concern myself with
who wins and who loses. I'll let God sort that out.

Others explained to me that Bush has a secret agenda. I should be
patient, give him time, evaluate the results.

I don't believe it. I think he intends to do just what he says. I
guess I give the man more credit than many of his supporters. I think he
really does believe he can fix the government school crisis in this
country from Washington with better programs and more spending. I think
he really believes he can and should salvage the Social Security scam. I
think he really believes one of the top priorities of his administration
should be the implementation of a federal prescription drug plan.

What bothers me most about Bush's first speech is that I didn't hear
the word "freedom" mentioned once. I didn't hear any synonyms for it
either. George W. Bush clearly has a statist agenda. The campaign's
over. He's telling us what he really believes, folks. More government,
less freedom. That's his prescription for the next four years.

Some of the angry letters challenged me to explain what Bush should
have said in the first speech -- with the whole nation watching.

Does anyone remember Ronald Reagan? Does anyone recall the positive,
forward-looking, non-threatening rhetoric that he employed in such
situations?

I would have promised to get government off the backs of working
people in this country -- not with some insignificant tax break, but
with the abolition of the IRS.

"But Farah," some people say, "he couldn't get that through the
divided Congress. He has only a slim majority in the House and Dick
Cheney as a tie-breaker in the Senate."

Maybe he couldn't pass such a radical action through the Congress.
But, if he couldn't, it would be real clear to the American people who
stopped it. And that's what Bush needs to do, but won't. Instead, with
his compromising agenda, he is going to squander the small working
majority he has in the Congress and lose it in 2002. Mark my words.

No, folks, don't worry. I'm not going to be beating this drum daily
for the next four years. I'm not going to be issuing these wake-up calls
five days a week. But I thought it was important for you to hear this
message somewhere.

This country is in need of a radical change of course. George W. Bush
is not going to deliver it. I wish I was wrong. I hope he proves me
wrong. But I'm always going to give you my best assessment based on the
evidence.