You almost need a barf bag handy when you read this article by Peter Baker (is that another one of Jeff Gannon's pseudonyms?) from the Washington Post.By the time he arrived in Prague in June for a democracy conference, President Bush was frustrated. He had committed his presidency to working toward the goal of "ending tyranny in our world," yet the march of freedom seemed stalled. Just as aggravating was the sense that his own government was not committed to his vision.
As he sat down with opposition leaders from authoritarian societies around the world, he gave voice to his exasperation. "You're not the only dissident," Bush told Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a leader in the resistance to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "I too am a dissident in Washington. Bureaucracy in the United States does not help change. It seems that Mubarak succeeded in brainwashing them." (Position the bag and read the rest here.)
My first question is the obvious one: He sees himself as a dissident in Washington? Just who or whom does he see himself in opposition to -- an oppressive regime, i.e. his?
My second question (and one I've asked before): How can anyone who fancies himself a journalist write about anything that Bush says or does as if it's credible?
The story of how a president's vision is translated into thorny policy is a classic Washington tale of politics, inertia, rivalries and funding battles -- and a case study in the frustrated ambition of a besieged presidency. Bush says his goal of "ending tyranny" will take many generations, and he aims to institutionalize it as U.S. policy no matter who follows him in the White House. And for all the difficulties of the moment, it may yet, as he hopes, see fruition down the road.
Oh, for Pete's sake! Or as my mom used to say, "Cry me a river!" So Jo-ji Bushie is the bold outsider with a Vision, but he's up against D.C. bureaucrats ... yes, yes, it's taking shape in my mind as a, yes, a comic book! Mild-mannered, bespectacled, slightly nerdy but lovable politician wants nothing more than to battle tyranny in the world, steps into a nearby phone booth and becomes Democracy Man!
Now where did I put that barf bag?
2 comments:
The story would be slightly more plausible if the man with the vision actually had a true vision and the brains to implement it.
As it is, he has never known what the aims of his foreign policy were in any sense broader than how it would effect our ability to control the world oil markets with US petrodollars.
He is no better than my 6yo who says 'if I were in charge of the world everyone would have access to ice cream and bike lanes'. And actually, she tends to show compassion.
And it is true for me that my anger is more directed toward the reporter who would repeat that crap and the editor who greenlighted it than to the president who said it.
(I generally don't quote my word verification but today's is zqsusy.)
Funny how those word verifications can be spot on sometimes. My favorite so far was dcfux.
I'd vote for your 6 year old in a heartbeat. That's national policy I can get behind.
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