Below are some excerpts of a stunning account of the reality behind the curtain in Oz. Although it is surprising in its depth of detail (by all means, read the entire article), the behavior and attitudes depicted actually mesh quite well with what we already know about the current pResident:
· First, Bush is an alcoholic, albeit in recovery, and alcoholics tend to obsess ("steady leadership" ha!);
· Second, his self-professed faith in God is well known, to the point where he has suggested that God actually chose him to be president;
· Third, Bush displays a tendency to believe that faith can trump fact, a dangerous tendency in any person in a position of authority, and a trait that exacerbates his ideological rigidity;
· Fourth, we know that Bush views intellectual dissent (even if based in verifiable fact, see points two and three) as disloyalty, and disloyalty (to his person, not the Constitution) is viewed as a combination of treason and blasphemy (since he is not only president, but he is God's choice as president);
· Fifth, Bush has consistently applied these peculiar notions of treason and blasphemy to his political opponents, who, in seeking to oppose him, he views as actually committing treason and defying God's will, so it is not surprising that he vilifies them in like terms and has trouble distinguishing between his political opponents and the terrorists of al-Qaeda;
· Sixth, unlike his father, Junior has always relished partisan politics and disliked the actual job of governing, and, as we know, Junior has a long and poor track record of following through on essential nitty-gritty jobs for which he has no enthusiasm;
· Seventh, Bush has always had his previous messes cleaned up for him and this is the very first time that his failure cannot be "wiped away." Add to that the fact that he is failing in the most public way possible and you have a situation in which a person who has never had to deal with his failures before, now--for the first time in his sheltered life--being confronted with the consequences of his failure and unable to handle it. Hence, it is not surprising that he is coming unglued. This is reflected in his inability to alter the behaviors that have contributed to his failure (the key one being his preference for ideology over facts), and instead fixating on the "traitors" within his admin (Tenet being only the last in a long line) and without (Democrats).
President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides privately express growing concern over their leader’s state of mind....
In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a man who declares his decisions to be “God’s will” and then tells aides to “fuck over” anyone they consider to be an opponent of the administration....
Aides say the President gets “hung up on minor details,” micromanaging to the extreme while ignoring the bigger picture. He will spend hours personally reviewing and approving every attack ad against his Democratic opponent and then kiss off a meeting on economic issues....
The President's abrupt dismissal of CIA Directory George Tenet Wednesday night is, aides say, an example of how he works.
"Tenet wanted to quit last year but the President got his back up and wouldn't hear of it," says an aide. "That would have been the opportune time to make a change, not in the middle of an election campaign but when the director challenged the President during the meeting Wednesday, the President cut him off by saying 'that's it George. I cannot abide disloyalty. I want your resignation and I want it now."
Tenet was allowed to resign "voluntarily" and Bush informed his shocked staff of the decision Thursday morning. One aide says the President actually described the decision as "God's will."
God may also be the reason Attorney General John Ashcroft, the administration’s lightning rod because of his questionable actions that critics argue threatens freedoms granted by the Constitution, remains part of the power elite. West Wing staffers call Bush and Ashcroft “the Blues Brothers” because “they’re on a mission from God.”
“The Attorney General is tight with the President because of religion,” says one aide. “They both believe any action is justifiable in the name of God.”
UPDATE: Kos at Daily Kos informs me that Capitol Hill Blue is not a reliable source, so please take that into account when reading the quoted material above. On the other hand, the observations that I made preceding the quoted material are still accurate as far as I can tell, and they still paint a portrait of a presidency careening out of control.
9:28:02 AM 
|
