Blumenthal: Bush's stairway to paradise

[kskiska]

Hoping that history will somehow vindicate him, the president has entered a phase of decadent perversity.

By Sidney Blumenthal

Sep. 20, 2007 | There has never been a moment when we were not winning in Iraq. Victory has followed victory, from "Mission Accomplished" to the purple fingers of the Iraqi election to, most recently, President Bush's meeting at Camp Cupcake in Anbar province with Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the Sunni leader of the group Anbar Awakening (who was assassinated a week later). Turning point has followed turning point, from Bush's proclamation two years ago of his "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" to his announcement last week of his "Return on Success." "We're kicking ass," he briefed the Australian deputy prime minister on Sept. 6 about his latest visit to Iraq. In his quasi-farewell address to the nation on Sept. 13, Bush assigned any possible shortcomings to Gen. David Petraeus and bequeathed his policy "beyond my presidency" to his successor.

(snip)

Bush is a classic insecure authoritarian who imposes humiliating tests of obedience on others in order to prove his superiority and their inferiority. In 1999, according to Draper, at a meeting of economic experts at the Texas governor's mansion, Bush interrupted Rove when he joined in the discussion, saying, "Karl, hang up my jacket." In front of other aides, Bush joked repeatedly that he would fire Rove. (Laura Bush's attitude toward Rove was pointedly disdainful. She nicknamed him "Pigpen," for wallowing in dirty politics. He was staff, not family -- certainly not people like them.)

Bush's deployed his fetish for punctuality as a punitive weapon. When Colin Powell was several minutes late to a Cabinet meeting, Bush ordered that the door to the Cabinet Room be locked. Aides have been fearful of raising problems with him. In his 2004 debates with Sen. John Kerry, no one felt comfortable or confident enough to discuss with Bush the importance of his personal demeanor. Doing poorly in his first debate, he turned his anger on his communications director, Dan Bartlett, for showing him a tape afterward. When his trusted old public relations handler, Karen Hughes, tried gently to tell him, "You looked mad," he shot back, "I wasn't mad! Tell them that!"

(snip)

The elder Bush assumed that the Bush family trust and its trustees -- James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and Prince Bandar -- would take the erstwhile wastrel and guide him on the path of wisdom. In this conception, the country was not entrusted to the younger Bush's care so much as Bush was entrusted to the care of the trustees. He was the beneficiary of the trust. But to the surprise of those trustees, he slipped the bonds of the trust and cut off the family trustees. They knew he was ill-prepared and ignorant, but they never expected him to be assertive. They wrongly assumed that Cheney would act for them as a trustee.

more…
http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/09/20/bush_draper/

[AndyTiedye]

1. It Is Not as Though Cheney is Any Better

:scared:

[kskiska]

3. Cheney betrayed Poppy

(in the next paragraph)

…Bush, Baker, Scowcroft et al. didn't realize that Cheney's apparent concurrence was to advance himself and his views, which were not theirs. When absolute power was conferred on him, the habits of deference lapsed, no longer necessary. …

[StClone]

2. Legacy? Rather a case study

Blumenthal has an opinion that may well be the lasting legacy of Bush is as a case study in psychology.

As an aside, they accuse Dems of pulling out as losers. What has to be replied is the Iraq Invasion was LOST from the start. It has nothing to do with Dem's actions this was a doomed effort from the get-go. L-O-S-T from start to finish no matter how many bodies or Billions we heap on this war pornography.

[Amonester]

5. LOST for most of what the United States has been b4 the sicko...

"accessed" "his" throne, "manipulated" into it by Cheney & Rumsfeld.

LOST for Joe Public taxpayer.

But, so WON for the top one percent already obscenely rich "have-more's" beyond anything even just imaginable (plus tax-breaks!).

That's what history will remember... and on edit: the fact that, nobody (so far...) was "brave" enough to hold him accountable (in The Home Of The Brave, no less...) for all his (and their) despicable crimes, war crimes, treasons, etc.

[trusty elf]

10. "There's no such thing as legacies!"

[tularetom]

4. Wow best thing I've read in a long time

The guy is nuckin futs and this article really makes him look like a candidate for a straight jacket.

BTW I think it's ironic that cheney was appointed to control the little twerp but turned around and used him to advance his own objectives, stabbing the poppy bush crowd in the back.

Alas, history will not be kind to the boy king but unfortuantely the dick will evade any blame for the debacle that this administration has been.

[ribrepin]

6. Recommended!

Come on people two more votes sends this to the greatest.

[bleever]

7. Shakespeare could take this essay as the template

for an historical drama as rich in the details of human motivation, machination, and weakness, as MacBeth or King Lear.

A great, great piece by Mr. Blumenthal.

[JohnnyLib2]

8. Terrific. Makes more sense than almost anything I've read.

Recommended. :thumbsup:

[ClayZ]

9. Bravo, Sidney Blumenthal! K and R

[kskiska]

11. The real crime is that Poppy allowed his wastrel son

to be put forth as a puppet president. All this could have been avoided. Poppy knew the truth about Junior and allowed this to happen for self-glorification - father-son presidencies, honor for the Bush family.

[paulk]

12. Sidney Blumenthal is the best political writer out there

this is a devastating indictment of the Bush presidency.

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I found the comments on Gingrich particularly interesting - Gingrich, despite his faults, is at least a historian, and understands the damage that Bush is doing to the Republican Party in that context - it's too bad he can't get past his myopia (like the rest of his right wing compatriots) and see the damage Bush is doing to our nation.