I really can't say much more about the U.S. involvement in Iraq or the dismissals of U.S. Attorneys that hasn't already been said...at this time anyway. I'm fairly positive that there will be further developments, unless a huge meteor strikes the Earth or Britney Spears wins a Grammy for best female vocalist or anything else indicative that we are at the End of Days. I'll comment about these developments (Iraq and the Attorneys, not Britney and the Huge Meteor) as they develop.
During coffee the morning news this past weekend, I happened to run across a summary of George Bush's Saturday weekly radio address, which was taped on Friday. Instead of pointing out examples of his mendacity and hypocrisy which, although mildly entertaining and easy to perform, has been done-to-death for me personally*, I'd rather try to make a slightly different point: The Bush administration's arrogance is what makes his administration bad for America.
I realize that in right-whinger-world, this statement qualifies me as a 'Bush-hater', which I am not, but please realize that I'm keeping all my options on the table**.
So, what makes Bush's administration bad? The incompetence of the staff? Promotion of a ill-formed domestic and foreign agenda? Lies, damn lies, and general nastiness? Well, yes...but you can be nice like Reagan and Carter and get away with any of those.
I think Josh Marshall, alluded to in Corpus Juris' previous post, made a point going in the right direction:
For all the intensity and hostility awash in our politics, there are some lines we just assume aren't going to be crossed, lines that are so basic that the civil compact itself can't easily survive if they're not respected...The lack of institutional integrity as demonstrated by Bush's staff would be another indicator of a bad presidential administration, and in my opinion, the most serious. There are certain lines you don't cross if you believe in the concept of democracy. You don't politicize the judiciary or the Department of Justice. You don't demonize large segments of your population because they disagree with your views on American society. You don't make a concerted effort to influence the media. You don't dismiss legitimate criticism of your policies. You don't...The list could go on and on.
Now for the other part of my statement, which I actually began writing about over this past weekend: The Bush Administration's arrogance...This goes to why the bad things end up happening.
It is arrogance that makes Bush and his staffers believe that they know better than anyone else, perform bad actions, and attempt to skate away without consequence. Arrogance turns every criticism into an attack and every policy initiative into a marketing campaign. Arrogance makes the Bush administration resond weakly to other people and events that should affect them. You can see arrogance in the language Bush chooses to use:
"Members of Congress now face a choice: whether they will waste time and provoke an unnecessary confrontation, or whether they will join us in working to do the people's business," Bush said.Not that Congress is coequal to the Presidency, not that we are all in this as Americans and need to work together to solve problems...Congress just needs to get on board the Dubya Express or the White House is going to the mattresses. Bush's will, due to the primacy of the office he holds, supercedes the wills of the elected representatives of the American people. Yet another:
"By choosing to make a political statement and passing a bill they know will never become law, the Democrats in Congress have only delayed the delivery of the vital funds and resources our troops need," Bush said. "The clock is running. The Secretary of Defense has warned that if Congress does not approve the emergency funding for our troops by April 15, our men and women in uniform will face significant disruptions - and so will their families."Nevermind that Congress has approved funding, just not on Dubya's terms; Bush's arrogance again eclipses the will of the people. This time, Congressional action is taken as an attack on his primacy, resulting in Bush being forced to veto a necessary funding bill. Last one:
"This means that the Democrats do not have enough votes to override my veto."Funding the troops or just plain doing what's right takes a back seat to the will of Bush. If support for the bill was unanimous, I wonder if Dubya would try to veto it anyway because it's not what he or his few handlers want.
Bush's arrogance, and that of his staffers, is what makes his administration bad.
* It still needs to be done, but I myself don't need anymore convincing that Bush the Younger possesses an honest or competent bone in his body, unlike some Americans that apparently still believe that he's doing a heckuva job.
** I still love that line, which hasn't been done-to-death for me, yet.
