President Bush is somewhere in Asia getting ready to meet with the head of China. My lack of precise details shows how uninterested I really am. At the same time, I’ve heard smatterings of Bush’s remarks about the behavior of other countries; and I shake my head.
President Bush is on the offensive, meaning he’s trying to justify his own administration’s position on many things. Like exporting democracy (with a lower case ‘d’), forming international alliances, repudiating countries who want to develop nuclear weapons, pushing for the eradication of terrorist cells.
Some of these goals are certainly admirable; For instance, I for one am not in favor of allowing any and every country free access to the power of hydrogen bombs. However, I don’t think the administration’s approach is going to be successful. If not, then why? Well, I think it’s because our President has gotten himself into a rut, one that repeats ad nauseam that we are right no matter what, rather than we are all right when we work together.
I believe in the Peter Principle, the one that says a person rises to his or her appropriate level of competence; and everything after that is downhill. That’s where George W. Bush is right now. There is no 9/11 to fortify him, no cheering stock market to boost him, no Congress to rubber-stamp him.
Instead, he has to fight for himself. And I sense he is losing the battle.
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