Last night my wife and I worked with the astonishing collection of evacuees at the Dallas Convention Center. As a Red Cross volunteer with little or no instruction other than "be nice", I was thrown into the breach. Helping people get medical attention, pushing wheelchairs, setting up cots, moving people around, getting food, .... I met a lot of great people. One of the people I talked with at length was a man named Brandon, who had been at the Superdome. He told me stories of the last five days that made me just shake with anger. This is not something I will ever get over. I don't know if I can write about it for a couple of days. But this morning I read in the Times about Bush's jokes at the NOLA airport, and I had to write this about him. But I can say this. Bush no longer even acceptable as president of the United States.
MUCH MORE BELOW
The jerk continues to act inappropropriately. Shorn of any reasonable excuse for his actions, and absent the gravitas of Dick Cheney (the Veep does have gravitas), Bush's behavior seems pathetically juvenile. Several versions of Bush's comments in the NOLA airport have been published, but the best account seems to be this one
from the Indian press:
"Later, at the New Orleans airport, Bush recalled visiting the historic city known for its jazz and lively nightlife.
''I believe the town where I used to come -- from Houston, Texas, to enjoy myself, occasionally too much -- will be that very same town, that it will be a better place to come to.'' ''I believe that the great city of New Orleans will rise again and be a greater city of New Orleans,'' he added."
Bush's behavior/style has been inappropriate to the presidency from the beginning, but his excuses/rationales/smokescreens have, until now, saved him from disgrace. Here are the major components:
- an overall lack of gravitas: Bush has never been a serious student or a businessman, and never faced the realities of making a living in the world for himself or his family. His single opportunity for discipline was the military, and he made a joke of that, essentially spitting in the face of the Guard and laughed about it. He has always covered this by acting like the stereotypical frat boy, making the superficial seem important.
- Faith-based credibility: Bush hides his background behind the impenetrable barrier of being "born again". He has no understanding of science, nor of poverty, nor of global warming, nor of anything substantive. He therefore uses "gut-feelings", pseudo-religious/magical rationales, "common sense" , anti-science stance, and related excuses. The irony is, "common sense" only comes from dealing with the real world, and Bush has no idea of what the real world is like. Further, he makes the truth a casualty in his determination to do what he wants. At all levels of his administration, altering the facts is viewed as a good thing to do.
- a management style which is excused as being like that of a CEO: Bush rejects the idea that he should personally review any subject or issue. That is left to his appointees. Unfortunately, when the appointees are nothing more than political hacks and ideologues, the ideas and judgements are usually poor.
- a manifest distaste for his job: his vacations are astonishingly frequent and long. His work schedule includes hours of non-work time every day. He has excused this as being important for his health, "balance", etc, and has been given a pass by the public and the press.
In spite of his disinterest, laziness, denial of reality, lying and ignorance, he suggests that he works hard, and he tries to pass off current problems as the fault of Clinton, last in office 5 years ago.
Bush can no longer be given a pass on these issues. We must force the media to address these issues. We must force Congress to face them. Rudeness, activism, speaking out, protests, sit-ins, creating news events, it is time to take to the streets. From now on, we are either part of the problem, or part of the solution.
I am trying to help Brandon find a way to start a new life in Dallas. He has put me on a new road, I know that.