It's been awhile since I contributed to this blog. The election sent me into a state of exhaustion. It is the first time that I really thought our political system transcended business as usual. From the thuggery of the 2000 election, which the Supreme Court dirtied its hand by issuing a ruling, to the outright disgrace of an administration that viewed itself beyond the pale of law, these past eight years have been nothing short of a nightmare. With the day rapidly approaching when, at last, we will have a new president, it is time to truly reflect on what this outgoing president means to me. I speak from the lowliest of positions yet the most distinguished in a democracy, a citizen. It is the rights bestowed upon a free man to express his views that makes this nation. With all the fanfare of the babbling talking heads on what this moment means, it is most appropriate to reflect.
The most disconcerting remark made by Bush was his macho statement about the burdens of office. Standing before the press corp, he mocked it by suggesting that those who apply this idea to the office of presidency are merely weak. What a joke!
This man was so over head in responsibility that he failed to understand the fundamental role the president plays in our society. Here is a man who watched his citizens drowned, who sent thousands of young men to their premature death on the strength of false intelligence, who allowed a vice president to violate laws (we needn't go into specific – time and space constraints), whose inept secretary of defense resulted in horrendous injuries to thousands upon thousands, whose financial oversight team couldn't detect a tsunami of trouble. With all that and much more, he mocks the line “the burdens of the office.” Obviously, he never took his responsibilities serious. Unlike, Lincoln who went to Gettysburg and was so taken by deaths, both north and south, that he penned a few lines that will forever be emblazoned in the hearts of anyone who witnesses the horrors of war. Lincoln understood the burdens of his decisions. Though his cause was noble, he still felt the burden of his actions.
No, our playboy, with his silver tooth pick and acquired southern drawl, the scoundrel who got bailed out of every jam, mocks the line because he never understood his role. He never assessed the consequences of his decisions. It was reported that he wanted meetings to start promptly, he wanted proper dress, all that false stuff that means little or nothing. How could he, in his final days, not understand the burden of his office. Maybe he should spend some time with the wounded veterans, or walk through Arlington, or visit New Orleans. Maybe he should get a conscience. Maybe he should look at the wreckage of his past and attempt to make amends though I doubt there is enough time in eternity.
