Two things occurred to me while reading Bruce Nussbaum’s lucid Businessweek commentary, “Bush is Half Right on Foreign Policy”.

First, Mr. Nussbaum’s article is titled incorrectly, in spite of its lucidity.  Bush is ALL WRONG.  The author feels that Bush’s recognition of today’s challenges in foreign relations makes Bush’s foreign policy half right, granting him partial credit.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  One doesn’t automatically get credit for all the answers on a quiz just because one can reiterate the questions.  One still has to solve for X, produce correct, workable answers - extra credit may be granted on discretionary basis if one shows all one’s work, too, like explicitly justifying attacks on other countries.  (Thought we reading adults in America understood this…maybe I’m wrong in making certain assumptions.)  Bush’s answers to current challenges are (get me the big red pen [checkmark]) simply wrong. 

Second, this country is in the midst of devolution, and perhaps the world at large is too.  Instead of belonging to a holistic, integrative and inclusive people, we’re backsliding towards racism, bigotry, unilateralism and isolationism.  How are we ever to provide credible guidance and help to second- and third-world countries if we’re no different, no better in our own values and actions?

[Recalling a little Devo tune…”I’ve got an uncontrollable urge…”]

Hold that thought…I’m too tired and too peeved to write coherently, I’ll finish this diatribe tomorrow.  Since political current events are not my forte, we're all better off if I sleep on this.  I don't want to commit a Bush-ism on Bush...

10:00:17 PM    comment []