In A Word – Bushwhack: Quick and deadly as a rattler, the administration can strike a lethal blow.
Gerald Eisman
July 21, 2006
Bushwhack: To attack suddenly from a place of concealment; ambush.
With little more than 100 days remaining till the mid-term elections, the sudden emergence of a "new and improved" George Bush seems incongruous with his usual persona. The sudden reversal of character cannot conceal the underlying traits that have been assailing the very fabric of this nation for five and a half years. Can it be that his poor job ratings and low personal popularity have prompted him to attempt a makeover?
For Example, W. appeared before the NAACP for the first time since his presidency began. He gave a 33-minute speech in which he praised the contributions to the nation made by the African American community. He was quick to admit that his party wrote off the black vote in the past, and vowed to support and sign the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Thanks to his speechwriters putting folksy words and platitudes into his mouth, Bush promised to build stronger ties between his administration and the black community.
He went on to praise programs that he said had the potential to assist blacks to gain economic success. Such programs, he explained, were those to promote home ownership, faith-based community service, repeal of the estate tax and education reform. He went on to say this, "I've come to celebrate the heroism of the civil rights movement and the accomplishments of the NAACP." Bush added, "That's why I'm here today. We want an America that's constantly renewing itself, rising above differences and healing old wounds."
The man who invited W. to speak to the gathering made the most telling comment. Bruce S. Gordon NAACP President and chief executive said, "I think it was a good day. He (Bush) said exactly what he should say."
Of course he did. There's only 100 days left to mid-term elections and the Republican party needs a larger portion of the black vote. Strange, but the words tend to echo hollowly as those he spoke after Katrina. When faced with one of the most staggering crises of his presidency, Bush, who had faced some shriveling criticism for speaking little about the poor said the nation had a solemn duty to help them.
All of us saw the images on television and there's some deep, persistent poverty in the region, he said, speaking of the August 29 hurricane. "That poverty had roots in a history of racial discrimination which cut off generations from the opportunity of America," he stated. "We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action."
Since that immediate crisis passed from the public's eye, Bush has said very little on the topic of poverty. Consider, most of the administration's activity has not only not been geared toward assisting the poor; much of it has the potential to hurt them. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he's mentioned the poor since a pair of speeches he gave in September 2005. The topic of poverty was totally absent from his State of the Union address in 2006 and this year's budget included no new incentives to aid the poor.
Thus the words uttered at the NAACP convention grow more politically oriented and less sincere. Can it be the members of that organization who put stock in Bush's words have been hoodwinked and bushwhacked?
The members of the NAACP aren't the only people to be struck by the bushwhacker. Administration officials told Republican senators that president Bush will soon formally propose a tribunal structure that contains only minor changes from the one that the Supreme Court held to be unconstitutional.
Attorney General Gonzales and national security advisor Stephen J Hadley met with Senators McCain (R-AZ), Graham (R-SC) and John Warner (R-Va), chairman of the Armed Services Committee to offer views on a new tribunal structure. It was their intention to alter the tribunal only enough to pass constitutional muster without giving due process to the detainees. Once again, the administration is seeking to set itself up above the law to gain its own ends.
As is their usual tactic, the administration offered extremely mixed signals, first releasing a Defense Department memo pledging detainee treatment that abided by the Geneva Conventions, then sending lawyers from Justice and Defense to testify before the House and Senate that some areas of the conventions are problematic. They suggested Congress need only ratify the original commission plan to meet the Supreme Court's requirements.
Many former top military lawyers have declared the existing rules for courts-marshal should be the starting point for legislation. Since the Supreme Court decided the president's commissions as originally drafted were unconstitutional, nothing would change were they to be made formal through legislation. The rights of the detainees would be insecure under those circumstances, just as the foundation of our nation, its legal system, would become indefensible.
Once again, the administration and its leader, all of whom feel themselves above the law, will bushwhack the nation. Meanwhile, the speechwriters continue to spin the pretty words that are geared to garner votes by stimulating trust in a group of men as trustworthy as a disturbed rattler. At least the rattler gives warning before it strikes.
With little more than 100 days remaining till the mid-term elections, the sudden emergence of a "new and improved" George Bush seems incongruous with his usual persona. The sudden reversal of character cannot conceal the underlying traits that have been assailing the very fabric of this nation for five and a half years. Can it be that his poor job ratings and low personal popularity have prompted him to attempt a makeover?
For Example, W. appeared before the NAACP for the first time since his presidency began. He gave a 33-minute speech in which he praised the contributions to the nation made by the African American community. He was quick to admit that his party wrote off the black vote in the past, and vowed to support and sign the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Thanks to his speechwriters putting folksy words and platitudes into his mouth, Bush promised to build stronger ties between his administration and the black community.
He went on to praise programs that he said had the potential to assist blacks to gain economic success. Such programs, he explained, were those to promote home ownership, faith-based community service, repeal of the estate tax and education reform. He went on to say this, "I've come to celebrate the heroism of the civil rights movement and the accomplishments of the NAACP." Bush added, "That's why I'm here today. We want an America that's constantly renewing itself, rising above differences and healing old wounds."
The man who invited W. to speak to the gathering made the most telling comment. Bruce S. Gordon NAACP President and chief executive said, "I think it was a good day. He (Bush) said exactly what he should say."
Of course he did. There's only 100 days left to mid-term elections and the Republican party needs a larger portion of the black vote. Strange, but the words tend to echo hollowly as those he spoke after Katrina. When faced with one of the most staggering crises of his presidency, Bush, who had faced some shriveling criticism for speaking little about the poor said the nation had a solemn duty to help them.
All of us saw the images on television and there's some deep, persistent poverty in the region, he said, speaking of the August 29 hurricane. "That poverty had roots in a history of racial discrimination which cut off generations from the opportunity of America," he stated. "We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action."
Since that immediate crisis passed from the public's eye, Bush has said very little on the topic of poverty. Consider, most of the administration's activity has not only not been geared toward assisting the poor; much of it has the potential to hurt them. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he's mentioned the poor since a pair of speeches he gave in September 2005. The topic of poverty was totally absent from his State of the Union address in 2006 and this year's budget included no new incentives to aid the poor.
Thus the words uttered at the NAACP convention grow more politically oriented and less sincere. Can it be the members of that organization who put stock in Bush's words have been hoodwinked and bushwhacked?
The members of the NAACP aren't the only people to be struck by the bushwhacker. Administration officials told Republican senators that president Bush will soon formally propose a tribunal structure that contains only minor changes from the one that the Supreme Court held to be unconstitutional.
Attorney General Gonzales and national security advisor Stephen J Hadley met with Senators McCain (R-AZ), Graham (R-SC) and John Warner (R-Va), chairman of the Armed Services Committee to offer views on a new tribunal structure. It was their intention to alter the tribunal only enough to pass constitutional muster without giving due process to the detainees. Once again, the administration is seeking to set itself up above the law to gain its own ends.
As is their usual tactic, the administration offered extremely mixed signals, first releasing a Defense Department memo pledging detainee treatment that abided by the Geneva Conventions, then sending lawyers from Justice and Defense to testify before the House and Senate that some areas of the conventions are problematic. They suggested Congress need only ratify the original commission plan to meet the Supreme Court's requirements.
Many former top military lawyers have declared the existing rules for courts-marshal should be the starting point for legislation. Since the Supreme Court decided the president's commissions as originally drafted were unconstitutional, nothing would change were they to be made formal through legislation. The rights of the detainees would be insecure under those circumstances, just as the foundation of our nation, its legal system, would become indefensible.
Once again, the administration and its leader, all of whom feel themselves above the law, will bushwhack the nation. Meanwhile, the speechwriters continue to spin the pretty words that are geared to garner votes by stimulating trust in a group of men as trustworthy as a disturbed rattler. At least the rattler gives warning before it strikes.
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