Michael Braun's Blog

George Bush has once again given the same speech to a throng of military personal at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He stood before the settled and enthusiastic (or at least noisily patriotic) Midshipspeople and repeated the same message he has gone on with since we first didn’t find WMD in Iraq. “We will never back down, we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory,” he said. Well, the only thing this tells us is how… strange he is.

So this brings to mind the question I ask myself a lot, ever since 2000. Is Bush stupid or is he evil? There’s a lot of justification for this question. I don’t even need to go into it really. Think about it – constant ignoring (or ignorance) of the issues, extreme over-simplification, repetition of the same words and ideas, refusal to answer question and an inability to demonstrate knowledge, and so on. Bush is either a blundering idiot or a devilish facist. Or maybe the two aren’t that different.

I like to say, Bush has to be stupid, because I would never let myself believe that my president is evil. So it’s a defense mechanism. But let’s take a look at something. Since Karl Rove (dubbed Bush’s Brain by some people including James Moore and Wayne Slater authors of a book by the same title) fell into some heat over the leak of a CIA operative’s name, he’s been less present in the White House and his loss has been evident.

First, there was the nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. This nomination was a fool-hardy gesture of cronyism that failed to excite either democrats or republicans. In the end, her nomination was doomed because hardcore conservatives did not trust the choice. The apeasement of insane conservative Christians has always been a speciality of Rove, who lead Bush’s brilliant reelection campaign in 2004 by not reaching for the middle, but for the hard right.

Second, the bungled response to the Hurrican Katrina response. Sure, FEMA screwed up huge, and it was the government’s fault, but the response to the response is what really hurt Bush. He brushed off the damage done and made it seem as if he felt the response was adequate. He was forced quickly to backpeddle and force Michael Brown to resign as head of FEMA. Bush lacked focus and was made to look like a blundering fool. Most of us know that Bush is a blundering fool with enough polish to fool some of the people some of the time. Karl Rove had that polish; now, Bush’s coating is starting to wear thin.

Third, international criticism. Bush has been unable to quiet his international critics over his handling of the War in Iraq. When attending the Summit of the Americas last month, Bush was unable to put forth any of his policies regarding new relations in trade for this important region because he was constantly bombarded with questions about Iraq. This is not so much reflective of an intense desire for the international press to understand what is going on, but rather shows the damage that Bush does to himself and his policies when refuses to hold press conferences. The more information he withholds, the more intense becomes the desire for information by the press and the people. Bush has held fewer press conferences than any president ever. He hides because he has no coherrent message, the kind that Rove was good at creating.

So now we see Bush on the edge, Bush in the corner. Historical politicians of the past have been renowned for their ability to fight when the cards are down; Bush simply caves under the pressure. He has given the same speech on Iraq several times and seems to believe that delivering the same message again and again will get the American people over to his side. While this worked for September 11, there is no disaster on the forefront of people’s minds. Indeed, there has not been an international terrorist strike on the United States since 9/11. Certainly there have been attacks on United States entities in other countries and there have been other terrorist attacks around the world. But the US has remained safe. Bush has nothing to fall back on, and he’s fallen right on his ass.

So is Bush stupid or evil? An evil ruler seizes power at an oportune time; Bush did that. An evil ruler works to stifle critics; Bush did that. But when the chips are down, an evil ruler doesn’t do himself in, and Bush has sunk his own ship. Without Rove on board, Bush has turned into a self-destructive force, dangerous to his own future and legacy, the future of the Republican party (at least in the short term), and the future of America. He’s a numbskull we errantly put into power. And yes, it was WE, it was all of us, as Americans. He’s a reflection of how backward our country has become. He’s a symptom not a disease.