“There is an old military doctrine called the First Rule of Holes: if you find yourself stuck in one, stop digging.”- The late Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, U.S. Navy
Considering how much President Bush admires war, it’s surprising he doesn’t heed to Admiral Carroll’s paradigm. From domestic to international policy, Bush seems to keep digging himself deeper into a trench he has little hope of getting out of. Admittedly, he’s been able to temporarily halt scrutiny into his warrantless eavesdropping program, but only because the press, public and Congress is shocked and awed by the mammoth incompetence of his administration. While giving a speech in Cleveland Ohio on Monday, Bush defended his Iraq record, saying he could "understand people being disheartened" but appealed to Americans to look beyond the bloodshed and see signs of progress.
Why is it every time Bush opens his mouth, my mind has to downshift in an effort to comprehend what he’s doing? The fact that thousands upon thousands of Americans and Arabs alike have been killed in this conflict should be glossed over because Saddam Hussein is on trial and the Iraqi’s have participated in a fractious electoral process? We should not lose heart when thousands of Americans, including myself, are being listed as ‘terrorists’ because they oppose Bush’s handling of the country? We should remain confident in his abilities while millions of Americans slip from the economic middle class into poverty can’t afford health care for themselves or their children and cannot find jobs that sustain their families?
You know, I’ve gotten used to our country’s leadership lying to me. I’m well aware that a lot of politicians use government service as a way to serve themselves while trying to appear righteous. However, I cannot tolerate being treated like I’m just too damned stupid to understand what’s going on.
As lame as the Clinton Administration was on certain issues, he never told a lie that was condescending to the American people. In fact, I can’t think of a democrat who has held the position of President who has treated the American public in such a condescending way. Bush senior adviser Karl Rove likes to talk about “post-9/11 thinking as something only the republicans possess.” Are Bush’s pleas for patience and to overlook the death and destruction he’s caused and neglected a part of that post 9/11 equation?
Maybe it’s just me. For some reason, I have a difficult time ignoring the blunderings of a man who was never qualified to be a chief executive in the first place. And I think that nearly six years in office qualifies as enough “on the job” training for anyone who holds the fate of our country and the world in his hands. I’m too damned old and too damned tired to wait and see if the economy, Iraq, New Orleans, Afghanistan, Medicare/Medicaid, the Iran nuclear situation, American healthcare, and warrantless wiretapping will all work themselves out in the end. I want Bush to stop asking me to be patient with him, get on the stick and start working some viable solutions to these problems. There’s another old paradigm I believe in—“lead, follow or get out of the way.” This “c’mon guys, gimme’ a break” bullshit makes me ill.
I hope the American people have learned a lesson with George W. Bush. Never re-elect a person who likes to strut around in an air force uniform, claiming a victory where there is none. For all of the hubris Bush and his followers came into office with, they sure seem to be simpering now.
Stop digging, President Bush. Crawl out of the hole you’re in, roll up your sleeves and start filling it back up with dirt. I know you think cleaning is something undocumented domestic workers and ‘girly men’ do, but frankly, you’re looking awfully girly to me right now. If you aren’t able to lead us anymore then by all means, step aside. Whatever you decide to do, be a man and take your lumps along with the rest of us. Accountability starts at the top.
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March 22, 2006 The First Rules of Holes http://www.mytown.ca/sakin/ Larry Sakin is a former music executive and medical non-profit administrator. He has published a number of articles in both fields and is currently writing a book about coping with loss. More of his work can be found on www.blogcritics.org, www.changeforamerica.com, and Charlotte’s Other Web.
