The War President
No doubt George W. Bush and Karl Rove believe that identifying dubya as a "war president" wins some emotional, perhaps even sentimental, part of the souls of Americans. History, after all, is written as the account of a long succession of wars. Or so the History Channel would have us believing...
Yes, there is something gallant about presiding over the country in time of war. These strategists must be looking to such triumphal figures as Franklin Roosevelt, and George Washington for inspiration.
Now, take a few steps away from the glorified images of the Revolution and World War II and take war for what it is: the most horrible circumstance a leader can involve his people in.
War is the ultimate failure of politicians. War is the ultimate failure of reason. War is the ultimate failure of leadership. War is the ultimate failure of diplomacy.
War is ALWAYS A NEGATIVE-SUM PROPOSITION.
When the president of the richest country in the world is proud of the fact that he led the world into war, it makes me ill. The efforts we could be making toward peace, true peace, the kind that addresses the root causes of terrorism and that aim to alleviate the inequalities that breed animosity, are nary a whisper in the halls of our government.
George W. Bush, you are a war president. You're the president of a war of your own making. If that makes you proud, great. It shames me, though. And I hope it makes other Americans ashamed to be associated with you.