Monday, August 01, 2005
(8:24 AM) | Adam Kotsko:
Remember shrillness?
From Paul Krugman:The campaign for Social Security privatization has degenerated into farce. The "global war on terrorism" has been downgraded to the "global struggle against violent extremism" (pronounced gee-save), which is just embarrassing. Baghdad is a nightmare, Basra is a militia-run theocracy, and officials are talking about withdrawing troops from Iraq next year (just in time for the U.S. midterm elections).I remember something that conservatives used to say about Bill Clinton -- he isn't consciously lying. He sincerely believes all the contradictory things he says, at the time he says them. Of course, the campaign to make Bill Clinton look like a naive buffoon collapsed as soon as we learned just how much tail he was pulling in. The "Bush as buffoon" theory, however, still has mileage. In fact, it may very well work as the "Bush as well-meaning buffoon." I think it's totally plausible that he thinks he's achieving all these great things. His fierce loyalty, combined with his "shrewd business sense" of how to delegate tasks and keep them delegated, makes him the perfect chump for those contradictory elements who are struggling to run the show. He provides the sincerity, and then gives everyone else a free hand to do what they want, being sincerely convinced that they're good people who will do a good job.
On the other hand, the administration is crowing about its success in passing the long-stalled energy bill, the highway bill and Cafta, the free-trade agreement with Central America. So is the Bush agenda stalled, or is it progressing?
The answer is that the administration is getting nowhere on its grand policy agenda. But it never took policy, as opposed to politics, very seriously anyway. The agenda it has always taken with utmost seriousness - consolidating one-party rule, and rewarding its friends - is moving forward quite nicely.
One of "President" Bush's great political talents is his ability to convince people who do care passionately about policy that he is one of them. Foreign-policy neoconservatives believe he shares their vision of a world transformed by American power. Economic conservatives believe he shares their dedication to dismantling the welfare state.
As we saw last election, sincerity only managed to pull in 51% of the vote, and as we all know, I'm a conspiracy theorist and loony leftist who believes that that number was probably inflated. I can't see any source of free sincerity for the next election. It seems like the Republicans have frankly run out of amiable fuck-ups.
