for anyone to say that they werent proud to be an american for any reason is ridiculous. I like president Bush and i think he did what he could and most definetly Obama can not do better. He is not fit for the job and shouldnt be president especially under the circumstances

I don't know what you're talking about "we were all glad to have Bush as our president." The man didn't even win the popular vote, meaning (for those of you who don't know) that more people voted for Al Gore and yet the other guy won. Yay for our representative republic form of government!

for along time we were glad to have george bush as the president but since the war on irag started we find him a dissgraceful man and we are sick of being americas 51st state no mean to affend but hopefully with obama we can be a partnership

Now I am proud to be an American. We have a leader that is actually respected in the world, not the laughing stock of it.

at this moment i think anyone who voted for obama can say im proud to be a american.i beleive that hes going to do a great job and hold the states together. it is a very proud thing they did voting him in

What is it about Bush that makes him a good American? His blatant disregard for the Bill of Rights, the fact that he's lied to the American people on serirous life and death issues, his No Child Left Behind that's hurting future generations of Americans, that he's caused the deaths of 4,000 Americans(not to mention innocent Iraqis), that he abandoned a city in it's time of need, that he favors the upper class and not the good of most Americans?
Yeah, he's a real all-American hero alright. No way that Muslim terroist-loving black guy could do much better.

The debate seems to have veered off course a bit, but back to it: Should anyone say they are not proud to be American, for any reason?

I don't think so, there are definitely incidences in American history that I am not proud of, but I will never say that I am not proud to be American.
We are one of the freest nations on earth, with a government designed to help the people (even if it doesn't sometimes) rather than enrich the life of a monarch or dictator.
So while I may not be proud of the Japanese internment camps, slavery, or the whole "stealing-the-land-from-the-Native-Americans" thing, I will always be proud of the fact that we can stand up to say what we disagree with, that the newspapers can expose the truth [even if blown out of proportion a little(a lot)], and that I can't be thrown in jail for any of that stuff.

yellow- can you explain you're reasoning?

I do think sometimes that we take our rights and the hopes that this country was built on for granted, which sometimes makes us not proud or ungrateful. Sometimes, I become ashamed of what our country is doing to the word. Bombing them for oil, wasteful spending of the military budget, and the killings of thousands of people who are suffering from a day to day to even leave their house.

You want to see info on her thievery? WATCH THE NEWS.

Good lord this is why I could not spend my life in this country. Back to England for me.

Maybe Bush did a crappy job in the White House, and maybe McCain isn't much better, but have you actually listened to Obama? the man hasn't ONCE said how he plans to reform the government. His entire campaign is based on change and yet we hear nothing about it.

I want to see the info on Palin's thievery, and everything else that people are claiming, but most importantly I want to see a candidate who is running a campaign on change, inform us on his plans to make change!

I completely agree with you Wolfie. For example, Bush commented a few days ago about the Wall Street crisis as a few "adjustments".

Someguy I agree with you.

What I was trying to show in my last bit of my last post was the way republicans create an "illusion." They never say anything with substance they just make up happy stories and talk about how they love small towns. It's a load of bullocks and I'm shocked that so few people can see through this manipulation. Sort of like the episode of Family Guy where Lois runs for mayor... The people don't listen to her policies but as soon as she starts saying stuff about 9/11 and being patriotic the crowd went crazy for her.... That's how republicans use trickery and illusion to win the campaign.

Yellow92 you cant tell people what to think. If people dont want to be proud thats their right. Im not saying they shouldnt be proud, but there are people who dont think the way u do.

As for the "cirumstances", what are they? What are the "circumstances" that Obama shouldnt be president under?

Im not gonna mention anything about Palin because Wolfie said it all but i do have to say something about Bin Ladin.

Its not as simple as we would like it to be. We cannot just find Bin Ladin and execute/imprison him. Its too late for that. Bin Ladin brought forth an ideology. You cant kill an ideology like you can a man. Once people saw what Bin Ladin did, they adopted his thoughts and ideas. I dont just mean attacking the US. People began to attack their own countries and their own people. From Morroco all the way to Pakistan. If Bin Ladin was to be executed he would become a martyr to his followers, and influence an ever greater movement. Even if he was to just dissappear, it would not make a difference. He brought birth to several organizations across the world and now those organizations have become independent. They have their own version of this ideology and could survive on their own.

The only way that we can eliminate this breed of terrorists is not through war and murder. We have to go to the source. Why do people jion terrorist organizations in the first place? People join because they are living in very difficult situations. This could vary from poverty, lack of education, suppression, to war. These people usually join terrorirst organizations to escape the horrible conditions they live in or as a result of these conditions. Therefor, we must help these people before they join terrorist organizations. We must battle these hard conditions (poverty, lack of education, etc.) and not the results of the conditions.

For example, the US supports President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt although he practically runs the country as a dictator and has been president for the last 19 years. His suppression over his people has resulted in the forming of organizations in Egypt that follow the ideas and methods set by Bin ladin. The US, however, cannot invade Egypt and overthrow Mubarak like they did in Iraq. They have to use other methods. Methods that impower the people such as strikes and global awarness. But this wont happen because the US supports Mubarak for several and somewhat improper reason, mainly the fact that Mubarak has formed a truce with Israel.

Another example is Afghanistan. Afghanistan was fighting the US's war during the cold war against the Soviet Union. The US supported Afghanistan by supplying weapons and artillery. After the war was over. Instead of continueing support inform of providing education, shelter, food and water, the US stopped its support. And so the taliban formed and later on Afghanistan ended up in the situation it is in today.

In conclusion, this problem cannot be solved from getting rid of one man. Its a lot more complicated.

I don't think Bush is that stupid. He's just an average guy. That however is the problem, America shouldn't be run by an "average" guy it should be someone above average because thats how we want to be...

How do any of you know if Obama won't be better than Bush? He hasn't been elected yet.

Sarah Palin is a known liar and theif. She said she went to Iraq, she didn't, she said she auctioned a plane on ebay she didn't. The list continues. She recieved 200 million dollars from the government to build a bridge then decided she wasn't going to build a bridge and didn't give back the right amount (she kept almost 30 million). I don't like people who lie this frequently.

Yes she has sooo much experience being the mayor of a town of 9,000 people whom she left in 20 million dollars worth of debt. What political prowness...

I hate how people are just buying into her stories about how "oh its small town America that we need to focus on." Too bad almost none of us live in small towns we live in vast suburbias.

I haven't once heard her say anything with substance, just jokes and quaint little stories.

Well let me tell ya what, America doesn't run on jokes and quaint stories. It runs on the sweat blood and tears that our forefathers produced as they toiled over the foundation of this fine country. Are we the people going to let some lackadaisacal lady come in here and pull the wool over our eyes just as those at 9/11 did? Are we going to sit here and listen to these hunting anecdotes about shooting caribou when we should be out getting Bin Laden. No!! Because we are proud! We are strong!! We Are AMERICANS!!!!!

I'm Emmles Wolfie and I approve this message.

Can you guys give some specifics regarding why Obama's credentials aren't as impressive as Palin's? Because without information to back it up, your claims are meaningless.

I agree with that statement 100%. Obama lacks the credentials, experience, and associate's with some very shady individuals. Also his attacks on Sarah Palin's credentials are rediculous when compared to his own.