The Bush Betrayal: Chapter 17

We continue coverage of this awesome book with another small sample:

        Chapter Title: Conclusion
Section Heading: <none>

On the whole, I tend to think that Bovard is a little too forgiving of the Bush Administration, or a little too harsh on the Clinton administration. At times, he seems to be saying that if Gore were in office he'd have perpetrated the same things that Bush has, and I just don't believe that's a credible scenario. What's my proof? Not much, other than the fact that I think Gore is a decent, albeit, imperfect guy. Gore, we remember, actually dropped out of the 2000 election - he conceeded for the 'greater good' of the country. That was monumental. Could you actually imagine Bush conceeding for the greater good? He might have to use that line a month or two from now after the Supremes fail to restore him to a second term, but it'll be a fake sentiment - just like all his other highly-touted platitudes.

Bovard's painting of the Clinton/Gore presidency as nearly as destructive or controlling as this Bush Administration just does not ring true for me. I imagine that Bovard has a particular disdain for Democrats because of taxes, and that punches up his rhetoric when it comes to Clinton/Gore/Reno, but that still does not color his worldview when it comes to ripping Bush. Bush, he says, is a danger to America, and a danger to the world.

Check one of Bovard's awesome concluding paragraphs:

Americans must cease hoping for some politician to ride in on a white horse and suddenly solve all the nation's problems. It is time for Americans to have the maturity to recognize that no one is coming -- that fatally flawed government programs and policies cannot be fixed by someone who claims to care more, or who is smarter, or who has (or doesn't have) an MBA. Americans should cease looking to a president as a savior and instead view him as a hired hand, put on the payroll for a fixed period to fulfill certain specific tasks.

That, my friends, is gold.

That's it. That's Bovard's book. Buy that mess - it'll be the best investment you ever made.

Link to original article (and Chapter 1 - Introduction) here.

Link to previous chapter.