Will Bush Listen? Do Pigs Fly?

So here we are closing out 2006 after two glorious years into George W. Bush's second term as President & Commander-In-Chief of the United States of America. Kudos to those red states and Republican strongholds who worked tirelessly to defame that tyrant John Kerry attempting to unseat our beloved leader. "Thank God we have George Bush as president" Rudy Giuliani said at the RNC convention, recalling the days immediately following 9/11/01. Yes, we have a leader who's resolute and unwavering! We have a leader who stands on principle! We have a leader who will continue to believe on Thursday, the same thing he believed on Tuesday, no matter what happened on Wednesday (thank you, Stephen Colbert).

Okay... enough of that crap...



Newsweek’s Question

Newsweek posed the question, “Will Bush Listen?” in their latest issue. After maliciously, ignorantly, and arrogantly attacking a sovereign nation on fabricated premises, the Bush neo-con cabal has been "resolute" on "staying the course" in Iraq, thus keeping our troops in harm's way with targets on their backs, caught in the middle between warring ethnic, cultural, & religious factions. Our foreign policy has been so misguided, and so errant, and so out of step with mainstream American values, that it took a mid-term election to send our president a clear message for a change-of-direction. Along with that referendum from the majority in this country are a number of other sources with a similar message of course correction, not the least of which is the Iraq Study Group headed up by daddy’s man – James Baker.

But when the Democrats take control of Congress on January 4th, the President, until & unless he's impeached, will continue to set America's foreign policy. Will George W. Bush listen to these urges for tweaking foreign policy? Or, will he ignore them and continue to "stay the course"? Or, perhaps he'll listen to John McCain & Lindsey Graham and make the situation worse by throwing more fuel on the fire (i.e. sending in thousands more troops)?


Victory for the Legacy

Is Dubya so concerned about his legacy that he needs to “stay the course” so he can declare victory and not be blamed for a(nother) failure? After all, changing the course would effectively be an admission that he made a mistake. Since he keeps talking about “victory” I can only assume he hasn’t listened to everyone in the world telling him that any chance for “victory” vanished with the WMD’s.

George W. Bush still thinks our mission in Iraq is to train the Iraqi military & police to protect & secure the country. I guess he hasn't been reading the blogs, and he certainly doesn't listen to Air America. If he did he might realize there's a horrific civil war going on in Iraq and that our troops are caught in the middle of it. He might also realize that we've just been training one faction of Iraqis to kill another. He might also realize that everything we've done, every decision we've made, and every action we've taken in Iraq has been wrong, has irritated the situation, and has caused more death & destruction then Sadaam ever could. But the Iraqi people can take solace that freedom and democracy are on the march! Gee, I can't wait to liberate Iran.


So, to answer your question Newsweek…

No, George W. Bush will not listen. He doesn't have the mental capacity to listen. He doesn't have the wherewithal to accept feedback, criticism, or competing ideas. He doesn't have the aptitude to analyze conflicting alternatives and make intelligent decisions. He doesn't possess the intellectual prowess to understand the history, complexities, issues, & personalities. He doesn't have the patience & fortitude to use diplomacy and negotiate with foreign leaders who AREN'T kissing his ass for aid & recognition. Instead, his policy is to simply overthrow unfriendly regimes. He is pure arrogance. He might SAY he'll listen, but we can't just take him at his word. We need to watch his actions, because we already know he's a pathological liar.

Even though everyone in the world is talking re-deployment (with the exception of McCain & Graham), my guess is that George has no intention of withdrawing our children from the heat of the crossfire. He still thinks Iraq will become a haven for terrorists from which they will attack America. As if there weren't already enough hot spots in the Middle East for recruiting and training America-hating mercenaries.

Yes, this is the 'leader' who we allowed to steal the 2004 election to extend this dark period for 4 more looooong years. This is the 'leader' who bankrupted our treasury, demolished our constitution, and allowed big business to write all its own toothless legislation. This is the 'leader' who abandoned Afghanistan to attack & occupy Iraq under false pretenses, and now both countries are in peril more so than ever.


The Epitome of 'The Peter Principle'

George W. Bush has managed to fail his way through every endeavor he's undertaken, yet he's continued to ascend to larger, and certainly more critical, roles & responsibilities. After failing at each of his business ventures (and then getting bailed out by daddy's friends), and after screwing everything up in Texas as governor (I highly recommend Molly Ivin's astonishing account in 'Bushwhacked'), he's spent the last 6 years dragging not just our country, but the entire world, down the toilet. ‘Listening’ to the Baker-Hamilton commission (the Iraq Study Group) would basically insinuate that daddy’s friends are bailing him out again.

Sure George - don't bother listening to the experts or the American people. Just keep on sending our children into harm’s way, escalating the ‘nookular’ arms race, and provoking foreign dictators. Just keep on contributing to global warming, ignoring presidential daily briefings, and ballooning the national debt. Surround yourself with 'Yes Men' who tell you what you want to hear, validate the decisions you and your neo-con cabal have already made, and then fix the intelligence around your policy.

George W. Bush is “The Decider”. He’s not “The Listener”.