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Opinion

The Summer of George

Salomon Fuentes
Opinion Columnist 

In the aforementioned episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza discovers he has three months of severance pay after being fired by the Yankees. He declares that it is the "Summer of George" and proclaims he will live it up during the three months. Of course, his luck runs out quickly as he slips and falls and thus must spend his summer recuperating and learning how to walk.

By now you might be asking why on Earth this would be relevant today. The answer is that this is also the "Summer of George," for our George (Bush, that is). This list of things that have gone wrong for the Bush administration are too numerous to list here and have created a notable shrinkage in his approval ratings. This is why this summer, Bush must (metaphorically) learn to walk again. He promised after his re-election that he would unite America. So far he has done a good job of that, as about 70 percent of people are united in thinking he is not doing a good job. He has to find ways to improve his poll numbers and reassure people that he is trying to improve the American quality of life.

To be fair, a few good things have occurred during the Bush administration. Most notably is the fact that the national unemployment rate, about 4.7 percent, has fallen to its lowest since 2001 when the United States was in a recession. Also of note is the prescription drug coverage. Despite its many shortcomings, it has helped many seniors get the medicine they need.

Nonetheless, those things are like throwing two sponges into the Gulf of Mexico to try and drain it. Bush must focus his attention on a long task list. On the top of his list must be to try and find a way to alleviate gas prices. With the summer coming, hurricanes could disrupt off shore refineries in the Gulf, which happened last summer during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That would result in higher gas prices than we have now. Second, Bush must find a way to fix the illegal immigration issue. A majority of Americans agree that there needs to be some solution to the problem. The answer is obviously not in trying to force twelve million people out of this country. However, that does not mean a compromise cannot be reached. Bush must find a way to get the Republicans and Democrats to agree to a plan and enforce it.

Finally, he has to find a way to work with Europe to disarm Iran, with war as only a true last resort. Bush has ruffled some feathers of European leaders, but considering the seriousness of the situation, they must out of necessity work together for the benefit of the world. 

This summer will be a hot and long one. But it doesn't have to be another painful one if Bush can play his cards right. With the mid-term elections coming up, his party is depending on him to turn things around. More importantly, he owes it to the American people to turn it around. For all of our sakes, lets hope our George doesn't decide to run a re-run of last summer.

Fuentes, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at salomonfuentes@sbcglobal.net.