Since The Dark Knight hit theaters, we've heard a lot of malarkey about how Batman represents Bush. And I'm sure Bush likes to think of himself that way - a pampered rich guy on the outside, who deep down just wants to fight evil evildoers of evil. And if you have to break a bunch of rules in the process, well, that's just how you fight evildoers. There's one big difference, of course - Batman is portrayed as morally incorruptible, whereas Bush is morally bankrupt. But apart from that, it's actually a great analogy. An explanation, which includes lots of spoilers from the film, below the fold.
The Bush-Batman parallels are striking, not so much to the broad character of Batman, but to the specifics of the film. To wit: a terrorist (the Joker/Osama bin Laden) attacks. Bush/Batman dismisses him as "just one man," and instead, goes after an old enemy - the last movie's enemy, one that's been humbled, defeated, and is now relatively powerless (the mob/Iraq), but one that's an easy, unsympathetic target, who (tried to kill/represents the crime and despair that did kill) the hero's dad, and seems easy to beat.
So Bush/Batman fights the old war, against the old enemy, not realizing the game has changed. And the consequences are dire. Not only is the new enemy still a big threat, he's infiltrated the old enemy (Iraq/the mob) and now the hero's even fighting the old war on the new enemy's terms. In other words, Batman/Bush fucked up, and by the time he (realized/didn't realize) it, his new enemy - his real enemy - was setting off bombs right, left and center.
Now, there are key differences - Batman gives himself unthinkable surveillance powers, but insures he has checks and balances, and relinquishes those powers the moment the crisis is over. Don't see Bush doing that. And, of course, he gets the bad guy in the end. Don't see Bush doing that either.
So, valuable lesson for Bush lovers. But there's a lesson for us as well. When Harvey Dent goes bad, he doesn't go after the enemy. He goes after his former friends. He lets the Joker off the hook for putting him in a trap that scars him for life and kills his fianceé. But he can't forgive Commissioner Gordon for his failure to stop bad things from happening. Gordon works with corrupt cops, "because without them, I'd be working alone." Gordon makes compromises he sees necessary, in order to take the first steps in reforming a corrupt system, and Dent hates him for those compromises. In other words, Two-Face, the film's secondary villain, is a purity troll.
And who's the real hero of the story? Batman, as incorruptible and well-meaning as he may be, is an egomanical fascist who wants to uphold the law by breaking it. Dent, as brave and idealistic as he is, is unable to accept the messy reality of what needs to be done. The real hero is Gordon - he picks his battles, he makes the compromises he has to make, and in the end, with Dent evil and insane (and dead), and Batman an outcast, he's the one in the best position to make Gotham a better place on a day-to-day basis.
So, a lesson to us all: it's easy to be ideologically pure sitting behind a keyboard. It's impossible once you have to start making hard decisions in the real world. Remember that, next time you're about to criticize someone who's on our side. And don't ever lose sight of who the real enemy is.