Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

EDITORIAL: Washington's Hail Mary
Staff Editorial
Daily Titan (Cal State-Fullerton)
06/07/2006

(U-WIRE) FULLERTON, Calif. — President George W. Bush has been entrenched in numerous political mishaps since he was re-elected in 2004, causing his approval ratings to be the worst of any president in American history. His recent public outcry against gay marriage has many in the country wondering if this emboldened stand is consistent with his God-fearing tenets or just a smokescreen distraction for negative publicity that continues to mount.

"Democrats argue that gay marriage is just a diversion from rising gas prices, the ongoing struggle in Iraq and immigration reform," said Debra Rosenberg in her Newsweek article "Politics of the Altar."

Bush and his administration have been haunted by the struggling war in Iraq, the mishandled FEMA situation with Hurricane Katrina, numerous West Wing player changes, the vice president's hunting accident and skyrocketing gas prices. President Bush is circling the wagons on gay marriage to rally his supporters to combat the Depression-like polling numbers.

According to a February 2006 CBS poll only 32 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush responded to the needs of Hurricane Katrina. His overall job approval rating has fallen 12 points from 42 to 34; 59 percent of Americans disapprove of the how the president is handling his job. In light of this information, it seems the attack on gay marriage at this crucial time is nothing more then a political Hail Mary to salvage a nose-diving approval rating.

Same-sex marriage, like other controversial topics that have graced our social roundtable, will be a political and moral battle for many years to come. But shouldn't a discussion this large be framed as an actual debate, complete with the active flow of ideas and insights between our political elites? In contrast, the Oval Office's current stance looms large as a rash decision the president and GOP leaders are using as a desperate ploy to cover or repair the administration's stained reputation.

As the president continues to publicly push for the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, the bold move rings as nothing more than a last-ditch effort to sway his constituency, particularly the Christian right, to forgive and forget his failures on a multitude of other issues.

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