Daniel Lipian’s column in Monday’s BG News concerning former President Bill Clinton and his supposed arrogance struck me as a yet another example of right-wing conservatives still managing to place the blame the Bush administration’s failures on Mr. Clinton.

In the column, Mr. Lipian claims repeatedly that Mr. Clinton was responsible for the terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001 without even mentioning the fact that President Bush and his administration received advanced warning from the National Security Council that Osama bin Laden was determined to strike inside the United States.

The memo itself was dated Aug. 6, 2001 and was entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike within the United States.” The reason nothing was done about it was simple: President Bush was on vacation.

In fact, Mr. Bush broke Ronald Reagan’s presidential record of vacation time with over 335 days and counting, according to ScrippsNews.

Maybe if Mr. Bush didn’t take so much time off he would have the satisfaction of capturing bin Laden and bringing him to justice.

As far as arrogance goes, President Bush has done a lot better job harming us with his arrogance than Clinton ever did.

His insistence that the United States is willing to “go it alone” and his refusal to follow through with diplomacy have lost us longtime allies like France and the United Nations.

The current war in Iraq is an example of the failure of going (essentially) alone in such politically turmoil states and regions.

We are currently losing billions of dollars per week fighting this war, driving us deeper in debt, and without a strong coalition or the UN support to offset causalities it is hurting us more than is needed.

President Bush’s insistence that the Geneva Convention does not apply to the United States in dealing with torture is another sad example of an arrogance that can and will in the long run hurt many Americans at home and abroad.

The Geneva Convention was set in place to prevent atrocities in war, and if we start to ignore that then we lose all barriers that separate us from the enemy we are fighting.

Finally, the article mentioned that Mr. Clinton should own up to his mistakes like President Bush has. I would like to know when exactly President Bush has admitted to a mistake.

The last I heard he wasn’t doing that because he felt that he hadn’t made a mistake in the war on terror.

Even during the town hall style 2004 presidential debate, a woman asked President Bush if he could name three mistakes he had made in his first term. He replied that he cannot because he hadn’t made any mistakes.

As you can see, President Bush has made many mistakes in dealing with terror. His arrogance is hurting us more than Mr. Clinton’s infidelity ever did.

It’s time for Mr. Bush to swallow his pride, admit his wrongs, and set our country on a better course before his term runs out.

Mark Ingles, Junior, Political Science and History, [email protected].