Bush on a Bender

Bush on a Bender

What do we have to do to get Bush drinking again?

By all accounts, Bush as a drinker was basically a very amiable and harmless mediocrity. He got along with one and all, and let his father’s wealthy friends cater to his needs with free advice and minimally-demanding jobs. Bush coasted through life, and quite serenely moved on when one after another of his business dealings failed to meet expectations. Serious he wasn’t.

Alas, ever since Bush quite suddenly gave up alcohol and re-discovered religion one day when he was forty, Bush has undergone a drastic remake. Like some other born-again Christians, Bush has embraced a strict sense of moral certitude that appears unshakable. Moreover, convinced that God has great plans for him, and likewise convinced that his presidency was sanctioned by God, Bush has overconfidently styled himself as the great “decider.” The problem, however, is that once a decision has been made, Bush finds it extremely difficult to change course later. After all, Bush sees his actions guided by God, and God by nature obviously does not make mistakes.

And so America finds itself mired still in the quagmire of the Iraq War, with no real end in sight. Despite the utter collapse of popular support for his self-indulgent war, Bush comes across like the proverbial “deer in the headlights.” Bush is paralyzed vis-à-vis foreign policy. He cannot change course in any appreciable way, for to do so would be to admit fault and call into question the very tenets of his private beliefs. That is probably why Bush so stubbornly ignored the Iraq Study Group report, despite its impressive provenance and bipartisan nature. For the same reason, Bush seems perversely impervious to the force of international public opinion, and even to the sensibilities of the Iraqis he claims to be helping. Instead, Bush continues to flail about for someone – anyone -- to offer him a “face-saving” plan that essentially promises to achieve his initial goals by only slightly altered means. Bush appears oblivious to the fact that events on the ground in Iraq have changed the situation so drastically over time that no such plan is possible anymore.

If only we could get Bush on a bender again! When Bush drank, he at least let other, wiser, more competent people take care of things for him. A sober Bush, we’ve learned, is a small-minded, overly rigid, self-righteous disaster.

Thank heavens for term limits!

Peace,
Historian