Bush Approach to Governing

In an email I received from my older and wiser cousin Herb after he read my previous Blog posting, Gang Aft Agley, he made 2 comments that I thought were significant and should be passed around. I have gratuitously added my comments on top of his comments.

Herb first opined, that the “shaadhan's assistant, trained to echo everything the shaadhan says, only more so!” had some applicability here.

I have taken that statement to mean that President Bush’s top level staff could be counted upon to outdo him in supporting his positions to the public.

I am not afraid to show my ignorance here. There may be more meaning to that statement than meets the eye. I have searched the net and asked around, including asking Herb himself, and am still awaiting his answer. Anyone more literate than I may feel free to educate me by replying here.

Surely the Secretaries of State and Defense, The National Security Advisor, The Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staffs, and even his estranged Vice President do so as they are sent out to the Sunday talk shows and are interviewed by the news media. In addition, the Republican leaders in congress can be expected to do likewise, at least until just recently. One should not make the mistake that they are hearing any independent opinions from these people unless it is contrary to the “party line.”

A second comment that Herb made in his email to me is as follows:

 What is the point of W agreeing to the McCain
 protocol, when he has no intention of honoring
 it? And an AG who will give him legal "cover".

This really caused me consternation and I entered a state of disequilibrium. Exactly what is going on here? To me this is more than just what some people, considered political experts, refer to as the “Second Term Blues.” And I have concluded that what this could be called is:

The Second or Third Derivatives of the Bush Approach to Governing.

The Bush approach to governing may begin either with a hidden agenda, from which a saleable policy is created in order to accomplish the hidden agenda, or a legitimate Policy under which a possible hidden agenda is buried in the implementation of the policy. First lets look at what the second derivative of the Bush approach to governing looks like when a hidden agenda is the starting point. Then lets look at what the third derivative of the Bush approach to governing looks like when a legitimate policy is the starting point.

STARTING WITH A HIDDEN AGENDA

First we have an “agenda,” usually hidden. The Agenda is what Bush really wants to accomplish; i.e. the neocon concept of US hegemony. It is driven by ideology, not by what is a reasonable, logical, practical approach to solving the problems of our country and our role in the world.

The first derivative of the agenda is a public “policy” to accomplish the agenda, and the lies concocted to sell the policy to the public and the congress while at the same time hiding the true agenda; i.e. the War in Iraq and the WMD argument and the immediate threat to US security.

The second derivative of the agenda is an action contrary to the law and the lies concocted ex post facto to support that action as legal; illegal detentions, illegal spying, and using torture to obtain information in order to win the war in Iraq and justifying it by a whole list of lies and deceptions, and dubious constitutional arguments as a war president.

STARTING WITH A LEGITIMATE POLICY

 •  Policy - Retribution for Trade Tower Attacks /
    Protect Nation Against Future Terror Attacks.
 •  First Derivative - Agenda - Topple Saddam Hussein.
 •  Second Derivative - Policy - War Against Iraq -
    Weapons of Mass Destruction, Linking 9/11 to Iraq.
 •  Third Derivative - Action Contrary to Law - Cooking
    the Intelligence, Lying to nation in State of the
    Union, Lying to congress, Lying to UN and world
    community.

More about how this impacts what is currently happening in congress this week will follow. Note that this week is an important week because a lot of must pass legislation is before the congress with a deadline prior to the holiday recess and the end of year deadlines. The result is a rash of activity and a fury of politics being driven by Bush's lies in support of his agendas that are coming home to roost.