RSSAll Hat, No Cattle #7682
President Bush loves playing the Bad Cop, talking tough, laying down “markers,” rabbiting on about good and evil and threatening those in the latter column… The problem, of course, is that the Bad Cop is simply a foil; it’s the Good Cop who resolves issues and provides the real leadership. And, of course, anyone vaguely familiar with the routine knows not to take the Bad Cop seriously.
So what was Bush thinking going off to NATO and demanding that it admit Ukraine and Georgia as members, even when it was obvious to everyone that French and German opposition — based on reluctance to antagonize Russia for gratuitous reasons — would sink the idea. Nope, Bush had to push it. And, predictably, to get ignored, or more correctly, indulged but not taken seriously as he warbles on about his “freedom agenda” etc. — and it’s left to the European NATO leaders to chart a realistic way forward.
Funny, there was a time when the U.S. liked to offer real leadership in such forums and leave the posturing to others. But that was a while ago…
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2 Responses to “All Hat, No Cattle #7682”
Not to mention the weird timing, with the US economy tanking. No doubt the guy who just lost his home and is looking for a trailer park has only one thing on his mind: getting Ukraine into Nato to complete the encirclement of Russia.
Bush seems to live on a far-away planet. Too bad that’s the one where we happen to live.
It makes sense when you consider that uselessly pushing people’s buttons is a great way to do nothing while appearing to be implementing a strategy or policy. But besides aggrandizing the executive branch and helping his personal friends, what has our president actually *done* for the past two terms? That’s right, nothing. It seems crazy, but it’s true - this presidency is about *nothing*. Who was it that wrote a few years back about how the bush administration doesn’t *have* a policy arm? So, so true. Look at the major executive agencies. They’ve been filled with people who spend their time and political capital systematically *not* carrying out the mandates of those agencies. They’re there just as republican placeholders. This administration does not believe in governance, pure and simple. Never has.
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