May 28, 2008 at 00:10:48

Bush At His Shrink: The Lame-Duck Session

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By Bernard Weiner (about the author) Page 2 of 4 page(s)

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"Watch yourself, doc. Those sound like Democrat talking points to me."

"I'm just trying to indicate that your numbers have fallen as the war has dragged on, and that war, under Rumsfeld, didn't go all that well because the public perception is that your Administration rushed to conflict without the proper equipment and isn't doing such a good job with the wounded vets when they return. Those aren't just 'Democrat taking points', those feelings are shared by most Americans."

"Yeah, you're right. I've lost the conservative middle. But even if I look like an unpopular President right now, history will vindicate me, I'm sure. Look at Truman. He was hated then, is held in high regard now. The public and future historians will see that I made the right decision to go to war, and to attack the Islam militants around the world."

"Mr. President, it's just you and me in the room here. You don't need to make speeches to me. I'm on your side, remember? We're trying to deal here with your inner feelings of abandonment -- this time by the American populace and by many of your closest aides -- and how you can work through those feelings and perhaps those that might make you doubt your 'relevancy' in your final months."

"Lame-duck presidents just naturally start to feel 'irrelevant.' It's partly because of my low poll numbers. My enemies feel like they can take me on, even poke more fun of me, because I'm so unpopular. But mainly lame-duck status means nobody takes me seriously anymore because I can't use the clout of the presidency to punish them; I'm on my way out."

"And how does this powerlessness manifest itself?"

"I'm not blind, you know. Look around. The Republicans in Congress, who I used to be able to count on to vote as a bloc in supporting me and my programs, are racing to separate themselves from me as the November elections approach. They think I'm toxic to their re-election chances. For chrissake, many of them are even voting with the Democrat majority on bills that I care about! Or are not supporting me when I veto a bill. And now I can't even fill a hall to raise money for John McCain; the event had to be moved to a smaller venue. It's embarrassing!"

"But, as you say, you understand that for those Republican officials, putting daylight between you and them is not personal, sir, just politics."

"Of course I understand what's going on, that's not the point! I look like a weakling. I can't hurt anybody anymore. They're even trying to take away my authority to order harsh interrogations of terrorists."

"But you're not even charging most of those at Guantanamo with any crimes, just holding them."

"Boy, you are dense, doc. We're not charging a lot of them because if we put them on trial, their military attorneys could claim they were tortured. First of all, 'enhanced interrogation' methods are not torture, at least not under our definition. Second, how can those military lawyers behave like that? I'm their Commander-in-Chief, their boss. Don't they have any respect?"

"When contemplating your low approval numbers, Mr. President, perhaps that low regard by the public has something to do with the common public perception that maybe in your zeal to do what's right by the American people and U.S. national security, you've bent the rules and the Constitutional protections way beyond what was necessary."

"I don't give a flying fuck what the public thinks of me. I've got to stand on principle here."

"Let's take another look at what you've told me so far in this session. First, you describe a nightmare situation where you feel abandoned by the public and by many of your closest aides. You feel all alone up there on the mountaintop. Then you tell me you don't really care how people judge you. The two interpretations cancel each other out. Tell me what you're really feeling."

(Long pause.) "I feel like I did as a boy and young man. I do my best, but somehow I always mess up and my parents and others make fun of me. They bail me out of my worst mistakes, but they never let me forget that I'm a constant screw-up. That's why I stuck with the booze and drugs for so long. But finally Jesus saved me, and gave me strength and courage."

"But some of your decisions led to tragic consequences."

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Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (more...)

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