At first I thought it was a joke. We have in the White House a “healthier, happier and sharper chief executive,” read a line quoted in the Washington Post, because “once a day, he puts his desire for a workout ahead of the nation…. In pursuit of a workout, the president is willing to risk the disapproval of some who might question his priorities. But in a largely sedentary nation, the president stands apart for appreciating the value of a workout.”
The passage was reminiscent of those 1950s Boy Scout magazine pieces in which virtuous personal habits were lauded by such virtuous persons as J. Edgar Hoover. Thinking it was clever parody to be savored in full, I clicked on the story link. But there it was in all its legitimacy: a perfectly serious piece by one Kevin Helliker, a Wall Street Journal senior writer, praising the president for putting “his desire for a workout ahead of the nation.”
The cliché is “stark contrast.” I try to avoid clichés, but occasionally one is so overpoweringly apt its useful precision is irresistible. And “stark contrast” is precisely what describes Bush’s persona versus that of other war presidents.
The grueling workloads maintained, for instance, by Wilson and Roosevelt during the world wars either killed them in office or soon thereafter, and Lincoln before them didn’t need an assassin’s bullet to take his life; he was doing that himself. These great men did not enjoy destroying themselves with oppressive work and worry. Rather, they suffered these burdens as an inseparable part of their sworn duty and high office, especially since so many others were being asked to risk just as much. And if nothing else, merely as caring human beings -- as presidents who truly gave a damn about so much carnage taking place at their command -- they had no choice.
Bush, however, is unburdened by such prosaic emotions. He can just go for a bike ride or jump on a treadmill and forget the whole scene.
But this isn’t Bush’s only secret to lessening the load. He has another. It’s an elegantly simple management technique: lying. It’s been amazing, I’m sure George has found, the things a fellow can get away with and the burdens he can unload -- like justifying a blatantly illegal and idiotically counterproductive war -- if he just lies his publicly venerated butt off.
Most recent case in point: The WP piece mentioned above also quoted the president’s last radio address, a weekly ritual of propagandistic frivolity long deserving of extinction: “We went to war because we were attacked,” said Mr. Bush, “and we are at war today because there are still people out there who want to harm our country and hurt our citizens. Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but all of us can agree that the world’s terrorists have now made Iraq a central front in the war on terror.... Our troops are fighting these terrorists in Iraq so you will not have to face them here at home.”
The transparent lies in that hogwash are so widely known that few even bother refuting them anymore. I know I won’t. That’s how obvious, how almost laughable the official lies have become. Listening to Bush expound on our winning and righteous effort in Iraq is like ringing up Baghdad Bob for some historical analysis of Iraqi defenses.
The WP piece (by Dan Froomkin) from which I have shamelessly robbed so many great quotes actually had a different purpose than just providing me with material; it thematically centered on the press’ “consensus view” that “Bush is losing his touch.” I disagree -- rather, I agree that Bush is now losing, but he’s not “losing his touch.” He’s doing what he’s always done and is doing it every bit as well. He’s tethering lies to “disassemblings” and covering both with hefty layers of banny-rooster patriotism. The only difference is, the public -- and one must add, perhaps even the press -- is beginning to take notice.
It is indeed a pity that the president’s carefree style should cause thousands to suffer death, permanent disability or the loss of a loved one. But there’s one inestimable consolation. At least George W. Bush is finding the time to be a “healthier, happier” chief executive.