Presidential Meltdown

Each passing day brings more evidence of the implosion of the Bush Presidency. If there’s an issue, he’s on the wrong side of it. If there’s a problem, he’s part of it. If there’s a solution, he’s against it.

Take the Katrina reconstruction effort. Nobody is in charge. There is no plan. There is no leadership. No coordinated effort of any scope or merit pending. Karl Rove, initially rumored to be in charge, has quietly stepped down, perhaps to stay out of the limelight while the Plame investigation takes its course. So now, according to White House Spokesman Scott McClellan, President Bush is in charge. I hope he does a better job with the reconstruction effort than he did with the companies he left bankrupt before turning to politics.

And then we have the legislative amendment to the current defense bill sponsored by Senator McCain prohibiting “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” of military prisoners. It is being backed by almost the entire Senate. But Bush is against it. Apparently, he wants to continue cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners, and claims the amendment will tie his hands.

Yes, George, that’s the point--they want to prevent you from continuing an immoral policy.

For a President who babbles on and on about morals, values and decency, his actions and priorities reflect an utter lack of decency, a betrayal of his stated values, and can only be described as immoral. Torture, in any guise, is immoral. Period. Any government or group who uses torture becomes as bad and reprehensible as any enemy they could face.

But even the Radical Right are going batty now, railing against the Harriet Miers nomination, claiming Bush has betrayed them by not nominating a strident, conservative powerhouse to the Supremes. In backroom conversations with notable conservatives, Bush has been trying to reassure that Miers is their kind of conservative, implying inside information about her that the Senate will likely never hear. But in doing so, he only underscores his penchant for deception and manipulation, qualities his own supporters are no longer able to abide.

Just today, strident conservative Jack Burkman called Bush a liar on MSNBC, referring to Bush’s claim that Miers was the most qualified person for the Supreme Court job. Of course, Burkman refuses to acknowledge that Bush has ever lied or deceived before, which is less a claim about the facts than a regurgitation of the party line. The truth is, the entire Bush presidency is based on deception, on bait-and-switch programs, on spin and rhetoric and orchestrated third-party smear campaigns. For the Radical Right robots to finally break from the script and call Bush a liar…confirms that the Bush meltdown is in full swing.