The scripted presidency of George W. Bush

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 04:03:00 +0000

When actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency in 1980, a number of pundits wondered whether cue cards would have a prominent place in the White House.

Since Reagan, other actors have entered the political arena, most notably bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, who occupies the California gubernatorial office Reagan held four decades ago. But it is rapidly becoming clear that the ultimate “scripted presidency” belongs not to Reagan but to prodigal son/ne’er-do-well businessman-turned-governor-turned president George W. Bush.

In case anyone missed it, a minor imbroglio is developing over a “question and answer” session Bush held with military personnel in Iraq. The tame exchange failed to make the news. What is making news, however, is the pre-show session captured from a satellite feed.

It shows Allison Barber, a deputy assistant secretary at the Defense Department, “prepping” the armed services members in advance of Bush’s arrival. She encourages the military personnel to smile because it looks good on television, and tells one soldier that if something comes up that isn’t scripted, he has the microphone and it is his chance to be impressive. A video clip of this preparatory session is available on CNN’s web site, www.cnn.com.

In a sense, it is surprising that this event made news. Anyone who has followed the Bush administration with any degree of attention is well aware not only of its penchant for secrecy, but also of its aversion to anything resembling spontaneity. The emperor, clearly, cannot be seen without the clothing of a script.

One case in point was the “tour” the president went on to promote his much-ballyhooed plan to “rescue” Social Security. It featured carefully screened audiences of his supporters.

Of course, it is important for the president to be protected, and the Secret Service exists for this purpose. For Bush, however, the need for protection extends beyond the physical protection which a nation’s chief executive deserves. He has to have intellectual protection as well.

No one has ever contended that George W. Bush is an intellectual heavyweight. He has no gift for a pungent phrase. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous statement, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” could not have been uttered by this president. He might have turned it into something like, “To be afraid is to have fear, and fear is fearful.”

Cindy Sheehan, in contrast, has been extraordinarily eloquent. And unlike the members of the armed forces who participated in the “question and answer” session with Bush, this administration could not compel her to stick with its script.

As the Bush administration’s approval ratings continue their rapid descent — spurred by the disastrous U.S. military intervention in Iraq, the abysmal governmental response to Hurricane Katrina, the exposure of a covert CIA operative because her husband wouldn’t sing the Bush administration’s tune, the economic downturn and increasing gas prices — the Bush administration resembles more and more the administration of the fictional British leader Jim Hacker in the comedy series “Yes, Prime Minister.” Hacker “increased the average age of the cabinet, but lowered the average IQ.”

Bush’s recent nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court even though she’s had no judicial or constitutional law experience is just another example of the president’s intellectual shallowness. In his selection, he is following the script of the movie “The Untouchables,” acting as a twisted White House version of the beat cop Malone, played by Sean Connery. Malone went to the police academy for recruits to clean up corruption. Bush, like the ultra-right generally, believes the judicial system is corrupted by defenders of democratic rights, and won’t be satisfied until right-wing ideologues tip the scales of justice. To accomplish his version of a “clean up,” Bush looks for people “untainted” by the experience of judicial reasoning or understanding of civil rights and liberties.

The ultra-right and the Republican Party have also had as part of their script that they don’t really believe in government. It’s time to take them at their word, hold them to that script, and yell “cut.”

Lawrence Albright is a reader of the People’s Weekly World.

Weve won on Social Security for now

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 03:58:00 +0000

President Bush acknowledged earlier this month that his main domestic goal of “saving” Social Security was going nowhere. Regarding his privatization scheme, he said, “There seems to be a diminished appetite in the short term, but I’m going to remind people that there are long-term issues that we must solve.”

Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) quipped that if there is a diminished appetite for Bush’s overhaul, “it’s because people disliked that taste of what President Bush was proposing.”

In the grassroots action groups that have been key to this development, like the Coalition to Protect Social Security in northeast Ohio, participants generally agree that the plans of Bush and the congressional ultra-right to privatize Social Security are not likely to be introduced this year.

The defeat of the attempt to privatize Social Security is a tremendous victory, one that we should all celebrate and be proud of. Social Security privatization has been the top domestic goal of Bush and the ultra-right. This was to be their year to make sure there would be no 71st birthday celebration for the program. They had a proven strategy, which initially seemed to be working — create a crisis of funding, scare the hell out of people and rush a bill through Congress. It worked with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Patriot Act, and the Medicare Rx “Reform” Act. Why not with Social Security?

Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and morons fail. Even without a bill, the more the general population heard about the plan, the less they liked it, and the more Bush’s ratings fell. Many erstwhile supporters in Congress began to shy away from the scheme. Their survival instinct told them that messing with Social Security could end their careers

This victory was due to the great work done by millions of people and coalitions across the U.S. We, and our supporters in Congress, held firm in our common message, tactics and strategy. Hundreds of thousands of signatures were obtained on petitions and postcards, and delivered to our U.S. senators and uncommitted representatives, here in Ohio as well as in other states.

As a result, Ohio’s Republican Sens. Michael DeWine and George Voinovich and GOP Rep. Steve LaTourette wavered in their support of privatization. None felt Bush’s plan had any chance. While not rock-solid in their position, they were part of the change in climate that prevented privatization from going forward.

But, after 70 years of trying to get rid of our nation’s most successful social insurance program, the ultra-right has not given up. If a last-ditch attempt is made this year or new efforts are made in subsequent years, our coalition will remain on guard. So should every other coalition in other states. We should be prepared to fight every attempt to privatize in the future, and to get back into action quickly if there is any hint of an “end run” at the end of the year.

From the outset of our efforts, we have maintained that as long as privatization is still on the table there should be no discussion of alternative proposals by our side. And remarkably, that discipline was maintained in Congress and in the various coalitions. But, now that privatization appears to be off the legislative table (even if only temporarily), this may be an appropriate time to introduce measures to improve future funding for Social Security by raising or even eliminating the salary cap on incomes that are taxed for Social Security. Eliminating the cap, now at $90,000, would fund the program far into the future.

We agreed to speak with Ohio Reps. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Dennis Kucinich, Sherrod Brown and Steve LaTourette about the possibilities for such a campaign. We are prepared to initiate this fight, but only if legislation were introduced in Congress. In other words, we want to assess whether there is political and mass sentiment for such a campaign now.

Whether we decide to move ahead on the cap issue or take up another issue, we will definitely seek to maintain the great connections and active cooperation we have established over the years. Here in our part of Ohio, most of the 300-plus organizations and 1,500 individuals in our orbit were involved in our successful campaign for a state Rx law two years ago. With this victory in protecting Social Security, we hope to continue to fight on the next issue.

John Gallo is coordinator of the Cleveland-area Coalition to Protect Social Security.

People Before Profit blog

The scripted presidency of George W. Bush

Weve won on Social Security for now