The Belgravia Dispatch Laments
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General PoliticsIt’s odd. Bush, of late, has risen somewhat in my esteem given that he’s been significantly more candid recently regarding errors committed in Iraq. And then he has a ‘heck of a job Brownie’ moment, like this one re: Rummy, and I remember Harriet Miers, and Katrina, and the torture policy, and the blunders in Iraq and, well, I get all down on him again. It reminds me of a David Brooks comment about Bush on Meet the Press a while back: “And as I say that, you always got to go back to competence. And sometimes in my dark moments, I think he’s “The Manchurian Candidate” designed to discredit all the ideas I believe in.” Meantime, this Fox interview doesn’t bode well for my earlier prognostications here (although he does say the “end of my term is a long time…”) Still, maybe I should get out of the prediction business on this one…
A walk down memory lane of the Bush Administration’s many misfires is not a nice stroll. I agree that we need to be strong on Iraq, but let’s not get into the one-issue voter trap of 2004. It’s a different world now, and the other issues are important. High up on the list is organizational competency. Given that, does Bush possess it?
Also, does he have the good sense to let go some of the top advisors who guessed wrong in the WOT?
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December 15th, 2005 at 6:36 am
One wonders how Bush will be seen in history. A lot depends on whether we have another attack on the scale of 9/11. I do think that history will note Bush’s one big accomplishment, the introduction of democracy to the Middle East. That is something that argues for Bush as a great president. The rest of his presidency, though, is just awful, and even his conduct of foreign policy is awful and saved only by his persistence in pursuit of a democratic Iraq. I don’t know if Bush would have won without Rove, but he might have governed better without Rove.
December 15th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
How could you even ask the question as to whether Bush has organizational competency? A diseased chipmunk could run the country better.
My take is, way too little, way too late. He’s apologizing for the tip of the iceberg of his incompetence, and only because his poll numbers are down. Like most people secure in their ignorance, Bush finds it nearly impossible to apologize or admit error.
December 16th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
My thoughts. I remember hearing about how he considered not implementing the second round of tax cuts in his first term and Rove was like, “Stay the course”. It makes me think that Bush has simply relied on his advisors for too long instead of his own common sense.