President Bush is a Pancake

Poor President Bush. As we all know, George W. Bush is a very religious man, and right about now, he must be invoking the name of God every night in hopes that he’ll wake up soon from this nightmare known as being the President of the United States.

As my coworker put it, “His daddy wanted him to be president, and his brother won him the election, and now he just wants to go home and hang out on the ranch.”

I didn’t vote for President Bush, but I was willing to give him a chance. But every day, I become just a bit more appalled that someone as stupid as George W. Bush can be in charge of the country.

Tuesday night, after the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon were targeted, was Young Georgie’s chance to shine. This was the moment when all he had to do was show up, pick up the reins, and give us a few words of hope, of support, of strength.

And he blew it.

I am not a religious person, but Tuesday night, the entire country needed some sort of spiritual fulfillment from our leader. Dazed and traumatized, we needed reassurance and comfort that this was a terrible thing to have happened, and that it wouldn’t happen again if we could possibly help it.

Instead, we got a stilted, generic, “You go, America” speech that President Bush could barely read off his sheet. How many aides does it take to write a Bush speech? Enough so that each one can write a line, pass the speech on to the next aide, and have it land just in time in front of Bush and national tv for him to demonstrate just how well Georgie can read now.

Strength is not determined by how well you mask your emotion. Mayor Rudy Giuliani has publicly appeared drained, tired, and immeasurably saddened by what is happening to his beloved New York. Yet every word, unscripted or otherwise, has come from his heart, winning him praise and approval ratings that have never been seen before. When Giuliani finds out new information, you can trust that he’s going to share it with his people.

The federal government, however, has been its typically close-mouthed, paranoid self. In the past, the president has acted as a conduit to bridge the gap between the people and the government. By putting a face to the paper policies, the president reassures us that someone somewhere, who loves a son or a mother as we do, is making the decisions that matter. The path our leader sets for us will determine where we go from here, and how we can begin to understand the events that occurred.

But with Bush merely reciting the lines government gives him, we are unconnected from what is happening and what is being decided. President Bush has thus far not demonstrated any understanding of even being on a path at all. He appears to have no personality, devoid of any personal or original ideas. He has little charisma, and even less intelligence. He has, however, what many perceive as an excellent cabinet staff. Small wonder, because it takes many great people to prop up an inferior, immature one.

Al Gore isn’t terribly charismatic himself, but everyone who knows him knows that Gore is a hard worker. What he undertakes, he does to the utmost of his abilities. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, was not particularly brilliant, or a hard worker, but he possessed charisma (perhaps too much) and an ability to connect with the common people, and he demonstrated an understanding of what was going around him even if he wasn’t personally involved.

But President Bush has only been able to call on God lately, and it will take more than God to get us out of this. It will take someone like Hillary Clinton, who is competitive with Martha Stewart in her work ethic, and whose abilities are very high indeed. Or someone like Colin Powell, who knows to the depths of his soul what his personal convictions and beliefs are, and which ones can be compromised for the sake of the state.

I don’t expect every president to be a genius, or a smooth talker. But I do expect him or her to understand the serious work that being President involves. The greatest of our presidents have been those who remained true to their hearts, while having the confidence to consider other people’s viewpoints. For the sake of our country, I hope that Bush can find his heart before we lose ours.

Transcript by CNN of Bush’s comments at a prayer service on 9/14/01
Transcript by CNN of Bush’s Public Address on 9/11/01

Transcript of conversation between Bush, Giuliani, and Pataki on 9/13/01

Posted by: ssjane | September 14, 2001 | 4:55 pm
Posted in: Rants