The year that was.......

This was the year when America's worst fears about the Bush Administration were confirmed:

The Republican congressional leadership - Bill Frist – was accused of financial improprieties; Tom Delay - was indicted.

Veteran Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham was convicted of accepting bribes and numerous other Republicans are being investigated.

The "Plamegate" scandal resulted in the indictment of Presidential adviser Scooter Libby and placed Bush guru, Karl Rove, under a cloud of suspicion.

The accumulated evidence of Republican malfeasance constituted the worst Washington corruption in over 100 years.

One of the big stories of the year was the scuttling of Bush's ambitious agenda. Congressional Democrats united and the President's political capital evaporated. By the end of the year, congressional Republicans were abandoning battleship Bush. Separating from the Administration on torture, renewal of the Patriot Act, and his economic legislation. Dubya lost so much face that he was forced to do what previously had been unthinkable - admit making a mistake.

The years' most shameful event was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of New Orleans residents, mostly poor and black, were abandoned when the city was evacuated. For days the nation watched as old folks, women and children waded through flooded streets searching for food and water. The dreadful response of the Federal Government proved what many had been warning about – the Bush Administration learned nothing from the 9/11 attacks. The nation was woefully unprepared for disaster.

This was the year when a majority of Americans realized that they could not trust George Bush.

Unfortunately, he was elected to a four-year term and will be with us for three more years - unless impeached. While there were encouraging signs at the end of the year, Democrats have yet to mount an effective opposition. As a result, America is leaving 2005 a deeply divided nation without a clear sense of direction. Adrift on a sea riled by an increasingly irascible Mother Nature.

Bob Burnett - Huffington Post