Dan RatherEVEN BEFORE the push to deal with Iraq, before the emergence of the North Korean nuclear crisis, and certainly before the Columbia disaster, historians, commentators and experts on the presidency were remarking that President Bush and his administration had a lot on their plates. This observation seems true and evident, but it is not complete; it does not tell the whole story. Because as long as we Americans continue to call ourselves a constitutional republic founded on principles of democracy and freedom, the fact is that we all have a lot on our plates.
The first helping was scooped out on 9/11. The United States vowed on that day to catch the people responsible for the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans, and to do all that it could prevent future attacks from taking place. This quest continues today with the ongoing war in Afghanistan and the huge government reorganisation known as the Department of Homeland Security. These efforts are being undertaken in the name of the American people, and it is up to the American people to register their feelings about the progress of these endeavours, and whether they are getting the attention they deserve.
The second helping is Iraq. Did Secretary of State Colin Powell successfully make the US case for war against Iraq? True, Secretary Powell's address before the UN Security Council was delivered to the world, but it, along with President Bush's State of the Union address, was also aimed at an American audience. With American sons and daughters getting ready to fight in the Persian Gulf, that American audience should let their elected representatives know how they feel about the president's case for war, pro or con.
Then there was the unexpected side of Korea, a helping that is threatening to crowd the plate. With bellicose talk from Pyongyang mounting and new evidence of a resumed North Korean nuclear programme, do you feel this crisis is being given proper priority by President Bush and his foreign-policy team? Yea or nay, let your government know.
In danger of getting buried under this heady smorgasbord of foreign policy is President Bush's new $3.23 trillion budget proposal, which calls for fundamental and far-reaching changes in everything from the tax code, to Medicare and Medicaid, to how we save for our retirements. At this stage, the president's proposal is still very much that - a blueprint, a suggestion to the Republican-controlled, but very closely split, Congress. There are still many details to be hammered out by the House and the Senate, and they will be dictated by special interests - some you might agree with, some you might not - and those citizens who take the extra step of contacting their members of Congress. One and all ought to take the time to know the issues and make their voices heard.
Finally, there is the re-evaluation of manned space flight that is sure to follow in the wake of Columbia. For 40 years now, the US exploration of space has been a point of pride and identification for Americans. As NASA and our government decide its future shape, the American public has an important role to play in the debate.
Your reporter knows he is not alone in not liking polls. Working together, Americans can make them unnecessary - by letting our government know what we think directly. It isn't always easy to pay attention to and learn all the issues before our country, but freedom wasn't meant to be easy. Nor were democratic rights meant to be exercised only on Election Day.
Dan Rather is a television news anchor. Copyright 2003 DJR Inc. Distributed by King Features Syndicate
