The Education of George W. Bush

Even the mainstream press, perceptive but reluctant to bite hands, is now commenting on how Mr. Bush has changed. They won't settle on "matured", or "educated", or "tempered" because that would mean he was immature, ignorant, or intemperate. (The label "moderate" is insulting unless it's the opposition.) I'd say he's learned some painful lessons. His rhetoric has improved. He is less sweeping in his claims, less certain of his capability. Now, he says that solving the problems of North Korea and Iran will take time and international diplomacy, not simply them bowing to solely American pressure or force.

The painful lessons were taught mostly at the hands of the our two toughest foes: Iraqi insurgents and al-Qaeda terrorists. Osama bin Ladin remains "at large" and dangerous despite Bush's "dead or alive" sheriff talk of nearly 5 years ago. Maybe one day we'll get lucky with an airstrike and kill him instead of more innocents - Clinton's maligned cruise missile strike was as close as we've come. The Iraqi insurgency is a deeper and self-inflicted wound.

In the depths of the Vietnam war, around when LBJ decided against running for re-election, he developed a philosophical bent. In speeches, he posed rhetorical questions that revealed the uncertainties and complexities he was considering and trying to balance. He asked how a country could help another - and themselves - though the sacrifice be almost unbearable. These speeches are for an ally in a civil war what Lincoln's speeches are to a nation in a civil war - framing the moral and practical questions. We cannot expect any such clarity today. However, the parallels with Iraq, especially how the Iraqis themselves must take responsibility for their own country, are striking and ominous. The most depressing fact is that over half the American combat deaths occurred after Nixon replaced Johnson as president.

You can teach an old dog (Bush turned 60; ~10 dog-years) some new tricks but he'll still salivate to the bell. He reflexively claimed that our missile defense shield would've intercepted the North Korean missile, ignorant or ignoring the fact that these interceptors have rarely worked even under ideal conditions. This is $100 billion that could've been better spent, or saved. Maybe it could've helped educate the next generation, who will need it's wits to solve all the problems this "me" generation is leaving behind.