Pacific Views

George Bush: Objectively Pro-Liberal

Lambert pointed out this Krugman column which said:

...All the world knows about the Iraq about-face: having squandered our military strength in a war he felt like fighting even though it had nothing to do with terrorism, President Bush is now begging the cheese-eaters and chocolate-makers to rescue him. What may not be equally obvious is that he's doing the same thing on the economic front. Having squandered his room for economic maneuver on tax cuts that pleased his party base but had nothing to do with job creation, Mr. Bush is now asking China to help him out.

...Sic transit and all that. Just four months after Operation Flight Suit, the superpower has become a supplicant to nations it used to insult. Mission accomplished!

So let's look at some latter 20th century liberal concerns:

US military hegemony: Toast. It's clear that we don't have the muscle to push around nearly as many people as we implied we could. When the bully finally gets their butt kicked, even the runt of the class feels newly emboldened to throw a few stones. We'll still punch pretty hard because of our distance arsenal, but China is going to be about as scared of us as it is of France.

US monetary deathgrip: Everybody else is looking for the exit. It's clear that neoliberalism doesn't even work for us, let alone Argentina. And as Joseph Stiglitz pointed out, and the rest of the world couldn't have failed to notice, the Asian economies have succeeded to the extent they told us to go fly a kite.

Belligerent inattention to multilateralism: Last legs. Even the Bushies get it by now, though their binary repertoire only has 'hostile' and 'patronizing' options. The next person to inherit this mess is going to have to make almost as nice with everyone as a country with the barbarians at the gates.

Corporate influence: Out of the closet. The shamelessness of Halliburton and Enron put an end to the widespread mocking people were formerly subjected to when bringing up the idea that maybe, just maybe, some of the big companies were dirty as hell. Hasn't completely sunk in for everyone yet, but it's no longer just voices in the wilderness talking about it.

Apathetic electorate: Finally blinking off the nap of the Clinton years. Coming out of the shock of a stolen election and a grim attack on our soil. And the view isn't pretty. A Democratic candidate playing to the party base is mobilizing a veritable army of volunteers over a year before the election. Not even the press is laughing anymore.

Everybody thinks we're crazy: Thrashing around a lot, but dying all the same. Bush just had to go and prove right every single one of our worst fears, and push the barrier a little farther still. If you have to be crazy to be right, maybe crazy isn't so bad.

Thanks, George. You done us good. Now get yourself gone.

Posted by natasha at September 6, 2003 01:55 AM | TrackBack