Money, War and Wisdom

President George W. Bush addressed all House Republicans earlier today in a desperate attempt to rally some support for his ongoing fight with Congress regarding war policies.

Picture courtesy of AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

During that address, he said, “We expect the Congress to be wise about how they spend the people’s money.”

It was once said that he who never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes, and will never be wiser tomorrow than he is today.

More than $350 billion have been spent to fund our wars in the Middle East. $350 billion in deficit spending – spending that accrues interest. $350 billion in money from the American taxpayer.

I agree with the President. I too expect the Congress to be wise. I expect Congress to change their opinions and correct their mistakes. There are many billions of dollars in mistakes to learn from. Billions of dollars that could have been spent to insure health care for millions or to bolster public education systems. Or hell, the money could have been spent to provide millions of students with scholarships to public universities.

After the President’s speech, the Senate signed off on a bill approving $122 billion to pay for the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Included in the bill were orders for President Bush to begin withdrawing troops with a goal to end combat by March 2008. The House passed a similar bill earlier in the week.

In a letter to Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid said, “This Congress is taking the responsible course and responding to needs that have been ignored by your administration and the prior Congress.”

It was once said that wisdom comes not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility of our future.

Wisdom, money and war seem to be logically exclusive at times. It is one of the jobs of our government to make sure that they are not. If nothing else we should expect the Congress to be wise, especially in regard to how they spend the people’s money. Maybe now we are beginning to reassert our stand on this model.