But to blame George Bush for all of this is equivalent to blaming the dummy for the ventriloquist's words or blaming the Pit Bull for the sadism of it's trainer. There is a saying among dog lovers that there is no such thing as a bad dog, only bad owners. And this is empirically provable. Witness the transformation and reformation of Michael Vick's dogs when placed in the hands of gentle, loving people.
The blame for the catastrophic failure of Bush as president lies elsewhere. It lies with the neocons, the press, a Supreme Court justice who put ideology above the law, the Republican leaders in Congress, and, unfortunately, many of our fellow Americans.
George W. Bush was the creation of a group of radical conservatives whose disdain for the American form of government and desire to create a "new world order" (and at the same time maybe make a buck or two) led them to seek out an individual who had sufficient political and governmental credits to be taken as a viable candidate for the presidency yet who at the same time was so intellectually obtuse that he himself would be unaware of his role as patsy and dupe. Bush was a true tabula rasa for the neocons. And with super-sized ego and natural inclination to bullying, Bush brought all the right qualities to the table.
Dick Cheney, the neocon's neocon, was brought on board to be vice-president and to shepherd Bush through the minefields of Washington politics and to steer him in the right (wing) direction.
Karl Rove who was already playing the role of puppet master for the then governor of Texas was the logical choice to lead the army of spin doctors, publicists, political operatives, and advertising people that would be charged with accomplishing the greatest bait and switch sales job in history.
But even with all of that high powered and high priced talent, it almost came to naught with the election returns from the state of Florida. Bush's brother Jeb, then the governor of the state, had assured everyone that the election was in the bag. But as usual, the voters themselves had other ideas about that.
It was only after weeks of political and legal brinkmanship that the issue was resolved before the Supreme Court of the United States. The decision by the Court to stop the recount in Florida and effectively hand the election to Bush was signed, sealed, and delivered by Justice Antonin Scalia whose extreme right-wing ideology was evident in every affirming or dissenting decision he wrote. Scalia was hardly a "friend of the Court" but he was certainly a friend of the Bushes and their supporters. Bush's presidency was corrupted and tainted from Day One.
The first few months of his presidency were rocky and direction-less. The neocon goal of undoing the government was running into fierce opposition from the Democrats on the Hill. That was until September 11, 2001. The day it all came together for the neocons. In one cataclysmic moment, they saw their chance to remake the Middle East, secure access to the rich oil fields, and establish a military presence deep inside the Arab world. Selling it to Bush was easy. They told him that this was his chance to finish the job his "gutless" father didn't back in the first Gulf War, i.e., the removal of Sadaam Hussein from power. With the help of an emasculated and malleable press corps, the selling of the Iraq war was priority one. And with a nation still in shock from 9/11, they found little opposition. Even the Democrats cowered in submission lest they be branded as cowards, or worse, traitors.
And while Bush was busy squandering America's blood and treasure, others were quietly working at the dismantling of financial and corporate rules and regulations that would set the stage for our current economic disaster. And they also made sure that their corporate friends made billions of dollars to boot. After all, there was another election in 2004. And they certainly weren't going to accomplish all of their goals in only four years.
Act Two of this comic tragedy began with the re-election of George Bush to a second term. Fear was the name of the game. And once again, the Rove machine was put into full production mode. And just like before, we bought their bill of goods. At least 51% of us did. There is no need to recap what has happened since then. It is still fresh in our minds.
But the good news is that the neocons, the Republicans, and the Rove machine couldn't get the hat trick. Americans heeded the call of hope and change rather than the same doom, gloom, and nuclear annihilation theme of the Bush understudy, John McCain. Even throwing in a ringer like Sarah Palin, the female version of George Bush couldn't help. She became the Madonna of Moosejaw for conservative women and the Siren of Skagway for conservative men. But to the electorate in general she was a disaster.
And as for George W. Bush. Leave him to his delusion that future historians will call him great.
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