Bush Second Term - The Legacy
The Bush 2nd term Cabinet litmus test is quite simple - complete loyalty to George W. Bush. The amount of turnover for the Bush second term is actually about normal. What may be more unusual is the loyalty requirement. The purging at the CIA also seems rooted in getting rid of those who would in any way question the motives or actions of the President.
The first Bush term saw a significant number of Bush-bashing books published by former insiders. A goal of the second term is obviously to eliminate or seriously reduce the number of such books published in the next four years. It is about spinning and shaping the legacy image.
Second term legacy fashioning can be healthy, if it means sincerely striving to accomplish some actual good for the American people, but the Bush power base is not really interested in doing good, just in wielding power for the benefit of the already powerful. In Bush’s case, the loyalty litmus test clearly indicates he is more interested in personal image damage control, maybe even more so than in satisfying the greed of his power base. Unfortunately for most Americans, the combination of loyalty to Bush and a willingness to satisfy the greed of the powerful seems to be one that is too easy to find these days.
Internationally, Bush will be remembered as the President who reacted to 9/11 with the so-called War on Terror and who invaded and embroiled the US in Iraq on a questionable basis and without true international support. Domestically he will be remembered as a President who used religion for electoral purposes and presided over a faltering economy while amassing unprecedented deficits due to regressive tax cuts during a time of enormous war and defense increases. Certainly nothing to brag about. But his true legacy has to be his being chosen by the Supreme Court for a first term and by a majority of the electorate for a second term, in spite of the fact he has no particular talent or ability other than to campaign for office. The true Bush legacy, and one that should be over the door of his Presidential Library, is that he successfully followed the early political advice given to him by Republican guru Lee Atwater, "Play dumb and keep moving."
The first Bush term saw a significant number of Bush-bashing books published by former insiders. A goal of the second term is obviously to eliminate or seriously reduce the number of such books published in the next four years. It is about spinning and shaping the legacy image.
Second term legacy fashioning can be healthy, if it means sincerely striving to accomplish some actual good for the American people, but the Bush power base is not really interested in doing good, just in wielding power for the benefit of the already powerful. In Bush’s case, the loyalty litmus test clearly indicates he is more interested in personal image damage control, maybe even more so than in satisfying the greed of his power base. Unfortunately for most Americans, the combination of loyalty to Bush and a willingness to satisfy the greed of the powerful seems to be one that is too easy to find these days.
Internationally, Bush will be remembered as the President who reacted to 9/11 with the so-called War on Terror and who invaded and embroiled the US in Iraq on a questionable basis and without true international support. Domestically he will be remembered as a President who used religion for electoral purposes and presided over a faltering economy while amassing unprecedented deficits due to regressive tax cuts during a time of enormous war and defense increases. Certainly nothing to brag about. But his true legacy has to be his being chosen by the Supreme Court for a first term and by a majority of the electorate for a second term, in spite of the fact he has no particular talent or ability other than to campaign for office. The true Bush legacy, and one that should be over the door of his Presidential Library, is that he successfully followed the early political advice given to him by Republican guru Lee Atwater, "Play dumb and keep moving."
posted by Tom Blake | 10:18 AM
1 Comments:
Phoenix John sent a Charles Krauthammer essay from the November 29th issue of Time, which points out that the Bush-Cheney era will end in January, 2009, since Cheny won't be running as a VP moving up. The essay claims it is this awareness that has Bush in high gear, declaring a mandate and charging ahead to expend his "political capital" as quickly and forecefully as he can to at least partially privatize social security, radically re-do the tax code including possible adoption of a national sales tax, put limits on tort litigation, install conservative judges and "stay the course" in Iraq. Charles forgot to include oil drilling in ANWR
I say a co-alition of the unwilling (Dems, true fiscal conservatives and moderate Republicans) needs to arise in Congress to slow down, redirect or stop the Bush steamroller. Will the swing voters head the other way in the mid-term elections in '06 to strengthen the co-alition?
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