Moonbeam said:
Bush practices the art of denial, the steadfast conviction that if one stands firmly behind a position, any position and defends and defends he will attract a crowd who will love him for his persistence. I think he has few options but to continue to practice the Lie. All he has left is the lunatic fringe. Why would he want to also lose that?
One need look no further than Mitt Romney and Rudy Guiliani to realize that what "truly motivates" George Bush does not matter. It doesn't matter that a former moderate like Mitt Romney has totally manufactured his enthusiasm for Guantanimo Bay and indefinite detentions over the last eight to 12 months. Just like it doesn't matter whether or not Rudy Guiliani's somewhat newfound obsession with how "the terrorists hate us" is real or performance art.
What matters is that these men are following George Bush's playbook. The language of "good and evil" to continue Bush's legacy. The message is what matters, not the messenger.
Indeed, what really matters is how receptive a large swath of Americans continues to be towards these arguments - and how so many of America's media and political elites refuse to denounce or even criticize the Bush worldview out of fear of injury to their "serious" reputations. The danger lies not in whether or not George Bush believes what he says, but in the real and looming possibility that George Bush's worldview will become a lasting and permanent part of our political culture.
Bush's popularity is shaped by fear. But is not just the fear of his supporters and their enthusiasm for curtailing freedom for themselves and others in response to this fear, that matters. The fear of media and political elites to challenge the Bush worldview is equally important. They refuse to examine Bush "phoney" Replublicism closely because they fear being labeled unAmerican or traitors or even the milder, but somehow equally inmportant smear of "unserious."
Until our media and political elites begin to deconstruct Bushism and explain earnestly and specifically why Bushism is itself so inconsistent with American ideals, the president's worldview is here to stay. And it matters not a lick whether or not George Bush believes a single word he says. Indeed, it is increasingly obvious that many Republicans no longer care what George Bush says. They are already embracing Romney's and Guiliani's and Fred Thompson's reliance on Bush's fundamental worldview. Because the messenger is irrelevant. What matters is the message.
Bush's plummeting popularity creates an opening for America's media and political elites to critically examine Bushism - if only for a brief period - without the fear of retaliation or injury to their sterling reputations. The transition from Bush to a new Daddy figure has left social conservtive Republicans temporarily in disarray. If Bushism is to be repudiated, now is the time. Judgeing by the candidates running for president on the Republcan ticket, it seems Republicans will rally around a new authoratarian figure soon. And when they do, Bushism will regain much of its lost strength.