Denial

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By Bob Portune (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Bob Portune - Writer

"I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it." --Garrison Keillor

Taking his cue from the imaginary world of Lake Wobegon, George Bush certainly confirmed this past week that there is one, overriding principle to which he has held true during his entire Presidency:

Denial.

Oh sure, The Decider has shown considerable skill at - and devotion to - several other life-guiding philosophies throughout his tenure. Hypocrisy. Disingenuousness. Lack of intellectual curiosity. Selective sadism. Entitlement. Xenophobia. Braggadocio. All of which have contributed mightily to his soon-to-be-historically-condemned reign of mediocrity.

But denial, it always seemed to me, has been his strongest suit. Rejecting demonstrable fact, rewriting historical lessons and events, even repressing access to views that are not his own - these things have allowed the one elected official whose main interest should be our national welfare, to instead lie shamelessly and without hesitation; manipulate and divide without remorse; and take advantage of the fears and weaknesses of those around him by artificially inflaming those very fears and weaknesses.

Of course, as George Costanza once impishly observed, "It's not a lie if you believe it." Tragic, isn't it, that the "leader of the free world" turns out to be a graduate of the Seinfeld School of Governance.

Many of us in America recognized this pattern of denial in George Bush from the beginning, and raised red flags about the unsuitability of a leader whose dominant characteristic was a near total disdain for reality. Good Lord, kids - it just seems like common sense that the President of the United States must by nature be someone with a thirst for knowledge and information, and the instinctive inclination to look at a black wooden block on the table in front of him and not insist that it's white.

Should he have the capability to "dream big"? Of course. The best of our Presidents have had a larger vision driving their policies. But the best of them have also paid close attention to simple fact, and responded nimbly to changing circumstance - and have not been afraid to acknowledge that no plan designed by man is infallible or written in stone.

How then to react to our Dear Leader's ever-worsening air of denial toward... well, everything about his Presidency? Bush's stubborn detachment from reality has grown to a point where we should seriously despair for the survival of our nation as long as he's at the helm. Consider this short response from Wednesday's Q&A:

I am willing to follow a path that leads to victory. And that's exactly why we're conducting the review we are.

Victory in Iraq is achievable. It hadn't happened nearly as quickly as I hoped it would have. I know it's - the fact that there is still, you know, unspeakable sectarian violence in Iraq, I know that's troubling to the American people.

But I also don't believe most Americans want us just to get out now. A lot of Americans understand the consequences of retreat. Retreat would embolden radicals. It would hurt the credibility of the United States.

Retreat from Iraq would dash the hopes of millions who want to be free. Retreat from Iraq would enable the extremists and radicals to more likely be able to have safe haven from which to plot and plan further attacks. And so it's been a tough period for the American people. They want to see success. And our objective is to put a plan in place that achieves that success.

I'm often asked about public opinion. Of course, I want public opinion to support the efforts. I understand that. But I also understand the consequences of failure.

And, therefore, I'm going to work with the Iraqis and our military and politicians from both political parties to achieve success. I thought the American - the election - it said they want to see more bipartisan cooperation. They want to see us working together to achieve common objectives.

And I'm going to continue to reach out to Democrats to do just that.

"Victory" is achievable? A plan that achieves "success"? The American people don't want us to "get out now"? "Retreat" will hurt our credibility? The election was a polite request for "bipartisan cooperation"?! "Continue to reach out" to Democrats?!! Not only is the specific phraseology chosen by Bush (respectively) undefined, misleading, pejorative, and just plain wrong, but it is a clear sign of someone whose mind is adrift in Neverland.

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www.bobportune.com

After 25 years as a Post-Production Specialist in the greater New York/New Jersey area, Bob recently relocated to Orlando to continue his editorial business and begin Art Directing high-end commemorative magazines. He's been extensively involved (more...)

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