more Bush

[calbert at hslboxmaster.com]

MalignD:
> 
> I'm as loath to give W credit as the next guy, but I found myself
> wondering whether it was realistic that he was as simplistic in his
> thinking as he appears to be. "

Same here.....One kinda looks for reasons to be hopeful....


 Wondering that, I thought of Nixon, who
> incorporated being thought crazy into his foreign policy (i.e., acted
> crazy); thought of Reagan, whose presidency (by most lights
> successful) was almost entirely acting; and of W's father, who
> apparently genuinely hated Saddam at a personal level.  Adding these
> up, I found myself wondering whether W was employing the same tactic,
> acting like a drunken cowboy, wanting to be taken as such, with the
> world invited to believe that he was using American foreign policy and
> military might to get personal retribution for Poppy.  Thinking that,
> it struck me that the French and Germans couldn't be serving W better
> if the situation were scripted:  even the allies think he's nuts!  He
> must be for real!

The problem is that if you look at Scrub's general political 
proclivities, it fits a pattern.....and I cannot assume that "the 
drunken cowboy" is the optimal stratagem for all 
seasons....Analysts have spoken of a strategy of "bigness", that 
is, frame the issues at their hyperbolic extremes, and you should 
be confident of getting more than half of what you ask 
for.......hence the abuse of the adjective "bold" in most press 
discussions.......This clearly worked early (tax bill, response to 
9/11) - but now the bloom appears to have wilted a tad - with 
approval ratings at or near  pre 9/11 lows......

love,
cfa
> 
> And maybe not.
>