ur armed forces are currently fighting wars on three fronts: the overall war on terror, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. There are still two of the three nations depicted as the presidential "axis of evil" who are progressing with their nuclear programs: North Korea and Iran. During the first Bush administration American military power was dispersed with a rejection of the views of our European allies and multilateral institutions.
Now years 5 through 8 of the Bush administration start with the departure of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Leaving the public spotlight, the single known voice of restraint within this administration. Those who got us into the unnecessary war in Iraq and designed the way in which we fight it, are still in place; the Vice President, Dick Cheney and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Now, with the NSA chief taking over at State, the chief executive has one of his closest friends running foreign policy; Condoleezza Rice. At the CIA the new chief, Porter Goss, has already told his staff to toe the line and stop leaking anything that might hurt the president. W, it appears, has complete control and tremendous power - and there will be fealty! An administration needs dissent and debate, discussion by men and women of courage who freely tell the president where they disagree with his views. It won't be happening in this White House.
When will Rumsfeld and Cheney and their boss get the message that the insurgency is spreading in Iraq and that obviously threatens the planned election. Yes, we had a military victory against Saddam Hussein, but, as yet, there is no political victory and this could all spiral into a true civil war.
David Gergen one of the brightest, most experienced and sagacious of political commentators, wrote in the New York Times, "Give the man his due: George W.Bush is emerging as one of the boldest, most audacious presidents in modern history. Whether he is also wise is a question that will preoccupy us for another four years, but the reshuffling of his team in recent days makes clear that he intends to stretch the powers of his office to their limits." Gergen is a man who has served in the West Wing for both Republican and Democratic presidents, with equal distinction. He found a Woodrow Wilson quote, "the president is at liberty, both in law and conscience, to be as big a man as he can." Right, and remember, Mr.Bush comes Texas-sized.
The President is already centralizing power in ways not seen since Richard Nixon. Remember the days of John Ehrlichman, Bob Halderman and Henry Kissinger? We now have a president who plans to run the government with his own threesome: Karl Rove, Condoleezza Rice and Dick Cheney. Add to all that the Republican control of the House and Senate and the prospect of conservative appointments to the Supreme Court and it looks as if "groupthink" will be the watchword.
Mr.Bush is quite entitled to build his administration in any way he chooses, but with the economy struggling and no signs of real progress on the war fronts, he had better reach out and win some hearts and minds abroad and on Capitol Hill or he might well find that the midterm elections reflect public displeasure, and soon thereafter Hillary and John and Rudy and (maybe) Arnold etc. etc.etc. will be preparing to take on the growing hubris within the White House.
Paul Farhi, of the Washington Post, had an interesting take on the role and future of talk radio in today's edition, which included the following, "Election day was a triumph for conservatism, but it may have been a mixed blessing for the people who yak about it on TV and Radio." He feels that it could be a disaster for the right wing talk-show hosts. They have always traded on an undercurrent of grievance, a sense of being the underdog, against the implacable, oppressive forces of liberal "elitism." In other words, the further the right wing was from power, the more they benefited. They had an enemy,. They had a target. Poor right-wing diss-jockeys, what will you rant against? Whose image will you attempt to destroy? What causes will occupy your hours of venom?
Have a nice day, take a deep breath and be entertaining. Try to be open-minded and fair and you will continue to thrive. Otherwise you'll bore us to death with your repetitious nonsense and half-truths.