So we voted Bush back into the White House. Do we realize what we've done?

We reelected a head of state who believes preemptive war is the best way to deal with international terrorism; who prefers unilateral to international cooperation; who turns a deaf ear to public debate and consultation; who discourages dissenting views; who has a track record of manipulating intelligence analysis – a man who has, in short, created an imperial presidency.

No wonder our enemies – and even our allies – hate us. We are determined to use our military might to solve international problems. We are willing to act alone. We are determined to see that no other nation achieves military parity with the United States. We are pledged to bring the "gift of democracy" to every corner of the globe.

What hubris.

And how does Bush get away with it? Largely by Congress's outrageous abdication of its responsibility. It has granted unfettered discretion to a single individual to wage war, and war-waging he has done.

When Congress passed the now infamous Tonkin Gulf Resolution, intended to prevent further aggression in Southeast Asia, the result was an even deeper involvement in Vietnam – the longest war in American history. ww

Likewise, today we are on the precipice, and the nation is in full denial. We have given Bush carte blanche in Iraq and have washed our hands.

Judging from the emails I'm receiving, Europeans are convinced that the U.S. is a nation of warmongers. Iraq has become the central front in a global war on "terrorism." And now we are told to get ready for another dose of "shock and awe" – an offensive euphemism if ever there was one.

Bush's pipe dream of forcing democracy on the Middle East has put over 300,000 of our sons and daughters at risk of losing their lives. Terrorism has proliferated in places where there was none before. Our tough talk inflames the Muslim world against us. We have killed too many women and children to ever regain legitimacy in the minds of Islamists.

Still, we reelected George W. Bush.

Mark my words: We will live to regret it.