Children in power

By now, the nation is well acquainted with the centralized authoritarianism of the Bush administration -- a kind of unseen hand that issues ideological dicta throughout the federal bureaucracy and brooks no upstream application of thought, especially by working professionals in their respective professions. It regards itself as supreme, and supremely wise, hence no one the hand touches could possibly have anything of value to add, hence you're either with the Bushies or against them -- in toto.

The administration also actually prides itself on this eccentricity, projecting it not only as sign of managerial efficiency, but as an articles-of-faith show of resolve. Political scientists might debate its merits as a theoretical construct designed to present a unified executive front, but in reality -- at least with this bunch -- it plays out as little more than emotional insecurity on top of heaping immaturity that few of us have seen since grade school.

The treatment of Dr. Richard Carmona, the former surgeon general ousted by the Bush administration last summer, is a classic case in point.

Following a polite silence after his firing -- he applied independent thought to his job, you see -- Carmona fired this blistering broadside against his employer's thuggishness: "I increasingly witnessed a government that was more and more using theology and ideology to drive its policies and its people -- stem cells, abortion, Plan B, the war and many more.... [And] our go-it-alone so-called cowboy diplomacy has in fact isolated us from the world more than ever in our history."

Later, at Rep. Henry Waxman's invitation, Carmona reminded the administration in House Oversight testimony that "the job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party."

Once, for example, Carmona submitted to his superiors a report for publication that "mention[ed] global warming" and -- oh dear -- contained "references to condoms as a deterrent to the spread of AIDS." Needless to say, it never saw the light of day. But Bill Hall, speaking for the Global Health office, which had shut down the report, said the administration's refusal to publish was only because of Carmona’s reliance on bad science. "Politics did not intervene in the process," said Hall, while supressing a chuckle, I presume.

What is more telling, however, was the initial response by administration officials to Carmona's public assault on theo-ideological policymaking; because their response, as mentioned, was the stuff of a child's mind and emotions.

They simply pretended they weren't the ones who broke the window.

"Dr. Cristina V. Beato, a former deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary for health who was Dr. Carmona’s boss, said she never heard him complain about political interference....

"Dr. John O. Agwunobi, who in 2005 replaced Dr. Beato, said, 'I worked with him short of one year and saw none of the criticisms that he was reported to offer.'"

Innovative as always, White House spokesman Tony Snow tried out what could fairly be described as the ah-shucks Trent Lott variation on the broken-window defense: Sure we broke it, but whatever could be wrong with a little play? Golly, your indignation puzzles us. Or as Snow put it, "There is certainly nothing scandalous about saying to somebody who was a presidential appointee, 'You should advocate the president’s policies'" -- which means, even in matters of a scientific bent, if Mr. Bush says two and two are five, the secretary of education should back him up.

But here was the real grabber -- an infantile display of Bush-administration immaturity that drops the adult jaw:

"Days after the abrupt end of Dr. Carmona’s term, friends organized a send-off party. Neither Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt nor any other top administration official attended."

Let's see. These children have how many days left in office?

Comments

[Barbara]

Calling this bunch of homicidal megalomaniacs children is too kind and understated. Same applies to 95% of those seeking to replace them in 2009.

We as a nation will rightfully be held responsible for what they have done in our name and at our expense.

They have bombed Iraq back into the stone age with millions dead and more millions displaced and are now preparing to say, "OK, so we broke it, but you better get busy and fix it."

These cold, heartless, self-serving bastards are planning to bomb another country that has done us no harm using nuclear weapons. Like Depleted Uranium, radiation doesn't play favorites, it kills everybody.

They have 17 months to wreak havoc on the world if no one steps up to stop them.

Arrogant Americans back the demand for regime change in Iran when the real need for regime change is right here in the USA.

[Ernest A. Don]

For those of you who are not aware of it:

The Republican Party has been using the nationalized children of former Batista supporters in Cuba to do to the US what their parents did to Cuba. "Beato" is a last name well known to those who know Cuban history and, I assure you, does not stand for humanitarian values. I will not go so far as mentioning Mengelev in the same context but could't resist the temptation of doing so.

[grumpyhippy]

Buzzflash, in its link to your article, mentioned the cartoon "Little Bush" - appropriate, yes. If you haven't seen the cartoon, do - it comes on Comedy Central at 10:00 on Wednesdays. I hope this comment is not considered advertising because it is not meant to be - it's just that this show really illustrates the mindset of the "leaders" of this country. Petty, selfish and childish.

[MO]

childishness implies a certain amount of innocese and lackof experience. That is not the case with these folks in the whitehouse. They are mean and vindictive. There is no innocence, just a selfishness and ignorance built on greed and power-grabbing.

[Linda Hale]

The Republican Party is nothing but a giant colossus run by teenagers

[Paul De Masi]

If these are children then they are the spawn of DEMON seed. They destroy everything they touch and more. They have caused more death in the name of God since the crusades. They destroy the lives of anyone who tries to speak the truth. Their goal is to destroy the U.S. constitution and steal everything in the process. They are not children or childlike, but the DEVIL'S own evil messingers of theft and greed and murder.

[Mar Z]

Labeling the behaviors of the Bush administration as "infantile" and immature is an understatement of monumental proportion, and is barely accurate. Our "dear leader" and his gang of thugs can only be called infantile in the sense that an infant has not yet developed a CONSCIENCE. These people are far far beyond "the stuff of a child's mind and emotions"- they are SOCIOPATHIC. Calling them "children in power" minimizes the extreme and pervading damage they have done (and do) to our country, AND the grave dangers they present (every single day) to the future of our beloved America.