In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Karl Rove and Lee Atwater before him, were reportedly great readers of Machiavelli. Another excerpt from Kevin Phillips' American Dynasty:
In fact, Machiavelli was even harsher, calling deception and disguise essential to rulers. In "The Prince," his most famous work, he lauded the success and effectiveness of the Borgia pope Alexander VI, "who did nothing else but deceive men." He advised that a "prince must take great care that nothing goes out of his mouth which is not full of the above-named five qualities, and, to see and hear him, he should seem to be all mercy, faith, integrity, humanity and religion." However, because "everybody sees what you appear to be, few feel what you are," a ruler can ignore the mob and devote himself to the interests of the ruling class, gulling the inert majority who constitute the ruled.
...
A decade later [after the first Bush] John DiIulio, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, resigned with a similar evaluation of the George W. Bush administration. He deplored, 'the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis, in which everything--and I mean everything--[is] being run by the political arm.... There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus.'
Can anyone read the above and not think of the parallels between Alex VI and Bush? The oft quoted reasons why people support the chimp relate to his faith, integrity, humanity and religion. Mercy? Well, four out of five ain't bad. We not only have Kevin Phillips saying it, we have John DiIulio saying the same thing: This administration isn't about governing for the good of the country. They can't be, they have no policy people. They are all, and I mean all, about getting reselected and rewarding supporters. Not only do we have John DiIulio saying it, we have Paul O'Neill saying it. Not only Paul O'Neill but Richard Clarke. In fact, everyone who has left this administration has consistently said the same thing--politics rule above all else.
- B 11:43 AM - [PermaLink] -
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