Geodog

George Bush, master of the big lie

I've been wondering all day today why I got so furious last night at Bush's unilateral declaration of war. I am not a pacifist, although I respect the point of view of those who are. While I believe that the US has been much too ready to resort to force, sometimes on the wrong side, I also believe that the use of military force is sometimes justified. For example, I reluctantly supported the Gulf War in 1991, although I agreed with then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell that we should have given sanctions more time to work. Under other circumstances, if it had been necessary, I can imagine supporting the use of military force to disarm Saddam Hussein, and perhaps even to remove him from power. So why have Bush's policies infuriated me, and why did Bush's declaration of war send me into a deep funk? Because of Bush's mendacity, arrogance, and cynical use of American idealism and patriotism for domestic political advantage.

Bush is a habitual liar without principles, and none of the mainstream media or politicians call him on it. He has adopted Goebbels' tactic of repeating big lies so often that they come to be regarded as true. From the disputed vote count in Florida, where it was alleged that upset citizens (who turned out to be Republican congressional staffers) stopped the recount, to last night, when he announced that Saddam Hussein had 48 hours to leave the country, or he would bring military conflict on himself (yet it turned out the US military is going to invade Iraq, whether or not Saddam Hussein leaves), Bush is a practitioner of the Big Lie. For reasons I don't pretend to understand, but I'm guessing have to do with not wanting to divide what they perceive as a fragile country, or being afraid of being seen as "soft on terrorism," the media never stands up and says "He is lying again," even when it is the obvious conclusion from their own reporting. For instance, the information about the US military being ordered to invade Iraq, no matter what Saddam Hussein does, was buried in the middle of the New York Times. The NYT didn't call any attention to it, nor did they point out how it clearly it made Bush's "48 hours" speech a piece of political theater divorced from the military reality. They just buried it, and gave the big lie front page giant headline coverage. Clinton lied about sex and the press hounded him; Bush lies about everything, and the press broadcasts and amplifies the lie and suppresses the criticism. How else to explain the poll finding that a majority of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 911, a belief for which there is no evidence other than repeated assertions by Bush that it is so?

The second part that infuriates me is Bush's arrogance, self-righteousness, and conviction that he has a monopoly on wisdom and judgment. Humility seems to be a foreign, or should I say European, concept to him. The continual belittling and insulting of allies, which I first took to be the result of incompetence, I have now become convinced is intentional. Bush's unspoken motto is now Oderint dum metuant, "let them hate as long as they fear". He is

determined to create a de facto American empire, with everyone else subservient to the United States, and a few countries like Britain enjoying the status of favored vassal. I still believe in the values I learned in my high school American history classes, that this nation is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not world domination, lower taxes, and security über alles. As General Wesley Clark has pointed out, unilateralism makes us less secure, and pax Americana will not make us any safer. As George Soros has pointed out, American imperialism contradicts deeply embedded American values. An American empire is inconsistent with American democracy. I'll chose democracy and liberty over security and empire any day, especially when the security is only rhetorical, not actual.

Lastly, I deeply resent Bush's debasement of public life, and his taking advantage of the natural patriotism of the American people. After 911, for the good of the country, Democrats and others reached out to the man whose victory had been given to him by a court, and confirmed him as the country's leader. The Democrats legislatively gave him essentially everything he asked for, and, as importantly for him, didn't open the many black boxes that would have revealed administration and American incompetence before 911. How did Bush react? With gratitude? By focusing on finding common ground with his political adversaries, in order to heal America and deal with her problems? No. He manipulated one of the biggest disasters in American history to gain political advantage and to push a divisive political agenda. Then, to distract the American people from their economic woes, and to gain political advantage for the fall 2002 Congressional elections, "a new war product" was test marketed and released, as Bush Chief of Staff Andrew Card notably described it. The cynicism of this administration has reached heights not seen since the days of Richard M. Nixon.

I must confess, this whole situation hasn't been helped by the Democrats, who seem to have forgotten Lord Randolph Churchill's dictum, "The duty of an Opposition is to oppose," and who instead have been running around like groundhogs panicked by their own shadows, and seem to have adopted instead the maxim, "Never be in the same room as a decision." Had they shown any leadership or unity, I might be more optimistic in the short run. Alas, most of them are spineless and only marginally less corrupted by money politics than most of the Republicans.

I do believe that in the long run, as Lincoln said, "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth," that the American people will see through the lies, and that once again we will get a government "dedicated to the proposition that all men (and women) are created equal". But I'm not enjoying the wait.