We Are the Change

Double or Nothing

Bush’s new strategy of sending more troops into Iraq is being referred to as the "double down" strategy. “Double down” is the wrong metaphor. The “double down” is a bet in blackjack, made from a position of strength when the odds are in favor of the bettor. In Iraq, we are not in a situation where the odds are in our favor. The more appropriate gambling term would be “double or nothing”. “Double or nothing” is a desperation bet made from a position of weakness in the hope to rescue a losing streak. The only problem with these gambling metaphors is that Bush isn’t playing with worthless chips; he is playing with the lives of our sons and daughters and the U.S. treasury. He personally has nothing on the table.
How can more troops in Iraq make a difference? U.S. troops have never lost a battle in Iraq. The problem that Bush doesn’t understand or refuses to face is that we are not losing militarily (the troop’s job); we are losing politically (Bush’s job). The reason we are losing politically is that Bush refuses to face the realities of the situation and concede that some unpleasant consequences are going to result from his ill-advised invasion. Bush refuses to admit that Iran and to a lesser extent Syria are going to emerge as the real winners in this mess. Bush refuses to even talk to Iran and Syria. Even James Baker (his father’s Sec of State) has pointed out that the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at us and declared that they would bury us and yet we talked to them. Bush’s childish refusal to talk with anyone who disagrees with him is what is standing in the way of a resolution of the Iraq mess.
To use another gambling metaphor, Iran and Syria are holding strong hands and if we want to bring the Iraq mess to a resolution, we are going to have to play cards with them.

Our Narcissistic President

Bush has a long history with little or no accomplishments. He attended top schools as a legacy student (as the son of a rich and powerful father, his admittance and passing were assured). Every business venture he controlled was an abysmal failure and his daddy’s people were always there to bail him out. Now, as president, he has again produced a hideous failure and again his daddy’s people (James Baker et al) are there trying to bail him out with the Iraq Study Group and its path out of the Iraqi quagmire.

American voters chose to ignore the long history of failure that highlighted George Bush’s resume before he became president and some now seem surprised that the leopard has not changed his spots.  Perhaps even more remarkable than Bush’s failures has been his refusal to take responsibility for his failures. George Bush is a man who doesn't read, doesn't elicit conflicting opinions, gets rid of those who offer them, lacks curiosity and shows all 9 diagnostic criteria of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Look at any of his comments that aren’t prewritten and you will see the numerous and repeated references to “I”, “me” and “my”. It’s all about him.

We live in an age of marketing and image manipulation thus Bush the draft dodging deserter in his flight suit strutting around on an aircraft carrier is portrayed as a top gun hero, while someone like John Kerry, who actually is a decorated combat hero, is seen as a coward. By the sophisticated use of propaganda, failure can become success, stupid can become smart and the coward can become the hero.

His history suggests that Bush, as narcissistic people always do, thinks he is smarter and more enlightened than everyone else and will continue to proceed down his own course which means he will not accept the ISG recommendations (this prediction is made ahead of time 12/10/06). Sadly, it will take decades for America to clean up the mess Bush has made in the world.