The Dying Woman Syndrome...

Iraq is like that woman condemned to death by Bush who was waiting for a pardon in the final minutes and there was none forthcoming. THis was Bush's sense of justice or humor, you choose the right answer. Will Iraq be spared by Bush's mercy or might he change his mind? And demonstrate a previously lacking sense of compassion or understanding that has been missing up til now..

With Bush, there is never the possibility of saying I was wrong. It is just not part of his vocabulary. He never had to. There was always power and influence he could use to gain the upper hand. He didn't say he was wrong when he learned insider trading from Enron's president in order to save his own holdings in his failing company. There was never an admission of bad judgment in the handling of Katrina.

With Bush, the buck never stops on his desk as it did with his idol, Harry Truman. With Bush, the buck keeps right on passing to the next guy. If belief in one's infallibility were a virtue, Bush would be at the top of the list with Cheney and Rumsfeld vying for second place. But it is not! Infallibility in the age of nuclear weapons and bullying ways is an invitation to dangerous precedents. And we are experiencing the fall-out of our precipitous ways in the twilight of a failed administration that despite what this president would wish for, will inevitably go down as the worst and most destructive of any administration in recorded history.

. As it happens, with Bush, changing one's mind was always seen as a weakness. With Bush, only a wuss changes his mind! And once your mind is made up all of his remaining brain cells are dedicated to maintaining the status quo regardless of new information.
This is what makes the outcome for Iraq so bleak. There is no alternative that could make Bush look better without leaving him at some kind of disadvantage. If we go the way of the commission, dad and Baker look better and he looks like he couldn't come up with a better decision on his own. Would it be better to condemn a dysfunctional country than consider the possibility of change. Of course, it's pro forma for the Bush cabal. Always start off with the conclusions you want and then don't let anything change your mind.
So, in the end, Iraq is the dying woman with no change of parole and Bush's legacy is fire and brimstone and growing enmity among the world's peoples.


les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon

The Committee for Positive Change
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com