I won’t be tuning in tonight when our lame-duck president makes his televised farewell speech to the nation. Since I have a pretty good idea of what he is likely to say, I have prepared my response in advance. Rather than address his likely comments one-by-one, I prefer instead to consider the common denominator of his entire tenure, i.e., the not-so-subtle political overtones of each and every policy decision and appointment he has made; his transgression into the realm of criminality and that of his henchmen, and his blatant disregard for humanity, both at home and abroad.
I will leave it to those more artful than myself to articulate what I, and the majority of the American people, am feeling at this juncture. There is no more visceral human reaction that that which occurs in response to betrayal. Somehow, I am reminded of the utter disdain of the Italian people towards Benito Mussolini, and the historical image of the bodies of him and his mistress, hanging upside down on meathooks, in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, where they were stoned by civilians from below. Yet, what George W. Bush had in common with Il Duce and other megalomaniacal, but tragic characters throughout history, was the self-appointed notion of destiny.
Almost from the day that George W. Bush took office, if not starting beforehand, he began to assemble a political monolith, aided and abetted by Karl Rove, that extended its tentacles way beyond the walls of the White House, to Capitol Hill, to K Street, and even into state assemblies. But Bush had plenty of help and no shortage of ambitious worker bees. Virtually every Government agency became a political arm of the White House. The Justice Department – we all know what went on there. The appointment of cronies to important positions ensured loyalty but in many cases, guaranteed incompetence. GOP Secretaries of State did what was necessary to provide an unfair partisan advantage during several elections, thereby helping fortify the bastion surrounding their president.
There has been no shortage of speculation as to why we invaded Iraq. Some say WMD; others say oil. Some even postulate that it was to avenge a foiled attempt at assassinating Bush41. I say that it was for a reason more cynical by far; to ensure the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. To a large extent, it was successful, but the planners of this enterprise never dreamed that our troops would still be there five years on. Iraq proved to be a trap for Bush, but for purely political reasons, he could not withdraw. In the background of Bush’s own political ascendancy, was the effort of Karl Rove, Richard Viguerie, Grover Norquist, Tom Delay and others of that ilk, to build an enduring Republican dominion in American politics, roll back the new Deal, and create a landscape in which corporate interests would be best served. Bush couldn’t very well get wobbly just when the goal line seemed so close.
Whether Bush served his own interests over the last eight years, or those of his political masters, who used him like a tool, we may never know. What we do know, however, Bush’s great eight-year adventure was had at an inestimable cost; in lives, in treasure, and in the stature of the Unites States of America. The fact that we have not been attacked since September 11, 2001 is small comfort. Even if the next attack comes twenty-five years from now, Bush cannot escape culpability for its consequences.