Leadership of Failure

My man Cenk says it right:

George Bush is the Arizona Cardinals. His team is terrible and he refuses to change any of his players. He doesn’t have the personality suited for making necessary changes. Quickly adjusting to changing circumstances is not his forte, stubbornness is. Even if he had the inclination to make a change, he doesn’t have the ability. He simply doesn’t know what the hell he is doing.

We’ve been playing most of his speeches and press conferences on our radio show for the last three years. After having listened to him talk about the issues for all that time, there is no polite way to put this – the man is an imbecile.

He is a simpleton who does not grasp complicated circumstances. As sectarian strife between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is ripping Iraq apart, he has never once mentioned the competing claims of those groups and explained how they affect our mission in Iraq. There is a good reason for that – he can’t.

I’m confident that if a reporter surprised him tomorrow and asked him what the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite is, he would have no idea.

Even if you’re a conservative or a Republican, do you really believe that the President has any idea what the difference between those warring factions are? That he might be able to tell you a little bit about their history and why they’re fighting and what may be able to bring them together? That the President can muster up a cogent, intelligent response? I don’t think you even believe that.

Look, this emperor hasn’t had any clothes on for a long time. Only our collective brainwashing and purposeful avoidance of the obvious has shielded us from reality. He keeps talking about evildoers and people who hate us for our freedom. He has the mental capacity of a third grader.

[snip]

For the love of God, call a spade a spade. How much cognitive dissonance does it take for the press to carry on this charade? The man isn’t bright, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by ignoring the obvious.

Politics aside, this is exactly what has bugged me the most about George Bush, or rather, those who blindly believe in him. He is a very uneducated man who is grossly unqualified to be president. Pretending otherwise does the country a great disservice.

Normally, I would never presume to claim intellectual superiority over any president from any party, but I have no problem proclaiming to anyone who will listen, yes, I'm much, much smarter than George W. Bush. And, frankly, his presidency is dumbing down America. He talks to us like he (and we) are ten, throwing out mindless (and meaningless) platitudes.

Why the press goes along with this, I can only guess. My theory is that through inertia and laziness the press applies a credibility template on any president that forbids the recognition that, indeed, the emperor has no clothes. "If the president says it, it must be presidential by definition", I'm guessing is the collective thinking.

Whatever the reason, this country really should have higher standards for leadership.