Trust without accountability.

[cosmicaug]

This election is partly about trusting Bush and his administration because that is all that Bush and his administration have to offer us, a demand for our trust:

• I'll balance the budget, trust me.
  
• I'll respect the Constitution and the rule of law, trust me.
  
• I'll carry out a humble and responsible foreign policy, trust me.
  
• I'll reduce the size of government, trust me.
  
• I'll do everything in my power to secure America, trust me.
  
• We know exactly were those WMD's are, trust us.
  
• Tax cuts are absolutely necessary because the economy is doing too well/rather poorly, trust us.
  
• Good times are just around the corner, trust me on this one.
  
• I know what I'm doing, trust me.

The Bush base has to believe Bush is trustworthy even if he might not be because trust is what is demanded by the Bush administration (questioning is unacceptable as it forces one to confront unpleasant realities about bush's fitness for the office he ill serves). We need to move beyond having a leader who we psychologically need to trust (as motivated by fear, partisanship, etc.) to having a leader we can trust (but who we don't have to trust because he hopefully won't be making policy behind closed doors). This means accountability among other things.

P.S. In the real world, those who operate on trust alone are often known as con men.