When you’re hired for a job, there’s a certain protocol to follow. Don’t lie on your resume. Don’t nap on company time and don’t keep secrets from your boss. Well, the president has done all of this and more – and as his bosses, we, the American people, must now hold him accountable.

As a candidate in 2000, Bush ran as a “compassionate conservative” and promised to pursue a “humble” foreign policy. Four years and two wars later, America stands reviled by friend and foe alike, and Bush’s compassionate conservatism has borne the bitter fruits of more poverty, fewer jobs and fewer opportunities for all Americans. His policy advisors range from extreme (Richard Perle) to theocratic (John Ashcroft). His environmental record is abysmal and the multilateral treaties that have kept the world safe from nuclear annihilation have been discarded. Under Bush, the Justice Department has embarked on a radical rollback of our civil liberties under the guise of fighting terrorism, while legislation such as the Patriot Act has squelched dissent.

The president knows he cannot honestly run on his failed domestic policies, which is why his campaign waves the bloody shirt of Sept. 11, 2001 at every opportunity. The president’s record on terrorism, however, is poor, too. On Aug. 6, 2001, Bush received a briefing titled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside U.S.” and responded by going on vacation for a month. Before Sept. 11, 2001, his administration consistently undermined the counter-terrorism efforts of the FBI and after the attacks, he bungled the war on terror by allowing Saudi nationals – including members of Bin Laden’s immediate family – to leave the U.S. before authorities could question them. The war on terror is itself a misnomer, as the U.S. is perfectly content to turn a blind eye to the repressive policies of countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, just as we once turned a blind eye to our terrorist allies against the Soviet Union, the Islamic muhajadeen who later became al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Iraq has been a disaster from the start. This weekend, it was revealed that in April of last year, 380 tons of high explosives were looted from one of Iraq’s military depots, which had been sealed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The New York Times reports that less than a pound of this type of explosive is sufficient to bring down a passenger jet. Also among the items stolen were explosives capable of acting as triggers for nuclear warheads. The reason that nobody was guarding this site was because U.S. troops had been ordered to protect only the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Through its short-sighted focus on oil, the Bush administration has allowed a motherlode of weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists, who are now free to use them against our troops.

The president has initiated some good policies that ought to be continued by the Kerry administration, should he win the election. Dedicating the United States to the task of fighting terrorism, for example, was a vital step, although the execution of the war has been badly botched.

A few bright spots in an otherwise bad record, however, are not enough to warrant Bush’s re-election. His intolerance of criticism has been misinterpreted as steady leadership and his apparent lack of introspection has prevented him from considering non-military solutions that come from outside the narrow scope of his own experience. He has lied to the American people about the reasons for going to war in Iraq, and he has fouled up virtually everything he has touched. The president is incompetent, and it’s high time we fire him.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.