How timely that the NY Times has written an editorial about Pres. Bush's poor stewardship of political capital post-9/11.
I agree with your comments about his alleged dyslexia, specifically to the understanding that it hinders his ability to make independent judgments and relies upon others a great deal, particularly forceful and successful men like Cheney and Rumsfeld. We are also seeing more about the influence of Barbara Bush on her son, not just the career of the father, that explain some of the divided policy decisions and lack of leadership from the Oval Office. The editorial excerpted below complains that the Pres. failed to follow through on speeches calling on Americans to sacrifice for a greater good, to give definition to a new sense of purpose, to pay more than lip service to the ideals and energy revealed post-9/11 and squandering the almost global goodwill shown to the US. Editorial: An Uncertain Trumpet "President Bush was hardly alone in hoping that America would emerge from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 a stronger and more cohesive nation. Yet nobody framed the challenge better than he did in his State of the Union address last January. "In the sacrifice of soldiers, the fierce brotherhood of firefighters, and the bravery and generosity of ordinary citizens," he said, "we have glimpsed what a new culture of responsibility could look like. We want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self. We've been offered a unique opportunity, and we must not let this moment pass." In later speeches he pounded on the same theme, urging Americans to forswear the "culture of selfishness" and embrace a "new ethic of responsibility." What has Mr. Bush made of that moment of opportunity, which may have passed us by? Sad to say, not much. Most of us had expected the country to be in a different place by now, and the fact that it is not can be attributed largely (though by no means exclusively) to Mr. Bush's failure to leverage the political and moral capital Sept. 11 provided." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/08/opinion/08SUN1.html I agree that we are flirting with conditions that resemble fascism, but I would hope that it is premature, more like a person with reactive symptoms of depression instead of chronic depression. I hope that the behavior and leanings of this administration are more a cause and effect of 9/11 than of more untoward and ulterior motives. At least I hope so. Karen
