I Cogitate
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Bush lacks the courage to ask for sacrifice
Picking the worst item/event/action associated with George Bush is like approaching at a world-class smorgasbord -- so much to choose from, so little time.
But one element that has been overlooked -- one, surprise, surprise, decided on solely for selfish political purposes -- is that Bush has yet to ask the American public to join our military forces and their families in sacrifice in the so-called global war on terrorism.
Bush calls this struggle World War III and yet deigns to truly rally all of America to a all-encompassing committment, the kind of effort that actually gives and spreads meaning to the lives of so many.
A cravenly calculated omission, this turned on the fact that any request of Americans would require change, possibly some sort of loss of privilege or maybe payment of higher prices. Deemed a political no-go, the concern was that such might lead to a loss of votes, regardless of the multitude of benefits of a country-wide solidarity.
Here's an example from this year of Bush pathetically dancing around the subject of sacrifice. From a January 16, 2007 PBS interview with Jim Lehrer:
MR. LEHRER: Let me ask you a bottom-line question, Mr. President. If it is as important as you've just said - and you've said it many times - as all of this is, particularly the struggle in Iraq, if it's that important to all of us and to the future of our country, if not the world, why have you not, as president of the United States, asked more Americans and more American interests to sacrifice something? The people who are now sacrificing are, you know, the volunteer military - the Army and the U.S. Marines and their families. They're the only people who are actually sacrificing anything at this point.Go here for the entire interview.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night. I mean, we've got a fantastic economy here in the United States, but yet, when you think about the psychology of the country, it is somewhat down because of this war.
This one is an earlier example, from a January 20, 2005 Dana Milbank/The Wshington Post article:
"...Bush has been uncomfortable with the question of sacrifice. Asked a month after the 2001 terrorist attacks about the need for sacrifice, he said: "I think the American people are sacrificing now. I think they're waiting in airport lines longer than they've ever had before..."Here's the link to the complete article.
Feel feel to retch.
There simply is nothing 'on the table' for even discussion if such, in any way, could be possibly construed as a matter that might possibly lead to vote loss.
Go here to read the entire description of what John DiIulio, who formerly ran the White House Office Of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, had to say about how EVERYTHING was politicized during his short tenure. Here's one excerpt:
"there is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: complete lack of a policy apparatus. Besides the tax cut, which was cut and dried during the campaign, and the education bill, which was really a Ted Kennedy bill, the administration has not done much, either in absolute terms or in comparison to previous administrations at this stage, on domestic policy. What you've got is everything, and I mean everything, being run by the political arm. It's the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis. [They] consistently talked and acted as if the height of political sophistication consisted in reducing every issue to its simplest black-and-white terms for public consumption, then steering legislative initiatives or policy proposals as far right as possible."top
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