In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Bushworld
While I sit with head in hands, staring with closed eyes at an endless chain of frightening scenarios that can't be mentally disconnected, no matter how much willpower is brought to bear, I find weary relief in the thoughts of others, even if only to confirm my worst fears, like these from Maureen Dowd, especially,
In Bushworld, it's O.K. to run for re-election as the avenger of 9/11, even as you make secret deals with the Arab kingdom where most of the 9/11 hijackers came from.
In Bushworld, you get to strut around like a tough military guy and paint your rival as a chicken hawk, even though he's the one who won medals in combat and was praised by his superior officers for fulfilling all his obligations.
In Bushworld, it makes sense to press for transparency in Mr. and Mrs. Rival while cultivating your own opacity.
In Bushworld, you can reign as the antiterror president even after hearing an intelligence report about Al Qaeda's plans to attack America and then stepping outside to clear brush.
In Bushworld, those who dissemble about the troops and money it will take to get Iraq on its feet are patriots, while those who are honest are patronizingly marginalized.
In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq, even as they increasingly merge the two in America.
In Bushworld, the C.I.A. says it can't find out whether there are W.M.D. in Iraq unless we invade on the grounds that there are W.M.D.
In Bushworld, there's no irony that so many who did so much to avoid the Vietnam draft have now strained the military so much that lawmakers are talking about bringing back the draft.
In Bushworld, we're making progress in the war on terror by fighting a war that creates terrorists.
Somehow outrage dissipates fear, but not for long. There's always another fresh outrage just around the corner, creating even bigger fear. I mistyped "willpower" just now as "willposer" -- which is not that far off when you think about the kind of will being imposed around the world and in America right now, by strutting imposters.
Here's a great letter from today's New York Times:
To the Editor:
In "Follow the Leader" (Op-Ed, April 23), Joshua Micah Marshall suggests several plausible reasons, despite bad news in Iraq, that President Bush has gained in the polls.
I offer another explanation: Americans are enjoying patriotism on the cheap. We have no draft. A very small percentage of our young men and women have been placed in harm's way. We at home have not been asked to sacrifice — no tax increases, no rationing, just appeals by the president and others to "support the troops" and "stay the course."
If the nation were really placed on a war footing, if we all had to endure personal hardship, the attitudes of Americans would change and those changes would be reflected in the polls.
JOHN A. VITERITTI
Southold, N.Y., April 23, 2004
John, you got that right -- only the sacrifice has indeed been made: It's all of us, and it's a done deal.
- Michael 12:17 PM - [PermaLink] -
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