A Failed Presidency?

[Thom Little]

Instead of focusing on this administration's screw-up du jour, isn't it time for the mainstream media to start taking real account of the messes Bush has created already?


By Stephen Pizzo
Alternet
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005


The first nine months of the George W. Bush presidency foretold what was to come. If you recall, pre-9/11 George was the quintessential deer in the headlights. He had landed the biggest job in the world, and had no idea what he was supposed to do next.

I was reminded of that look on Monday, when I saw the photo of W. trying to escape reporters' questions in Japan. It was a telling moment. He ended a news conference with a perfunctory, presidential "Thank you." He strode from the podium, employing his most serious presidential stride. So far, so good. Then his act abruptly collapsed. He pulled the door handle, but the door was locked.

And there he was again, for the whole world to see, pre-9/11 George, lost, adrift and looking for help. Help had always arrived for George before. It arrived and saved him in the nick of time on Sept. 11, 2001. But that kind of help doesn't grow on trees, and now he's on his own again.

September 11 did for George W. Bush what cocaine does for losers; it makes them feel and act like winners. If you've known a cocaine user, you know what I mean. They brim with energy and self-confidence. They listen to no one but their inner buzz. They are cocky, smug, obnoxious. Still, if they are able to focus that buzz, they can create an illusion that they actually know of what they speak, that they are driven -- even leaders.

As long as the cocaine lasts, the illusion can, too. But when it runs out, or stops working, the loser is all that's left. 9/11 has stopped working for George -- so Bush, The Loser, is back.



http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/28634/

[Erika]

1. Huh? Who cares about W's cocaine usage?

Try looking at www.icasualties.org if you care about the now.

[Shipwack]

2. They were using cocaine as an analogy...

9/11 tragedy::Bush as cocaine buzz::addict

When backed up by a horrific event, he seems confident and sure. When the furor of the event died down, the real bumbling Bush emerged.

[cliss]

3. How true. I saw the photo of Bush "stuck at the door"

and I cringed. It was one of those moments that happen every now and then. They reveal so much: a helplessness, not knowing what to do next, and an idiotic clownish look that reveals that Bush is in fact used to being a clown. I saw this photo on several foreign newspapers in Europe, and they were laughing at this court-jester moment.

And yes, it's all about illusions. Bush is nothing more than an illusion created for the "average American", no different from an ad campaign from Oil Can Henry's.

The joke is on us.