The Angry Liberal Commentary Archive:
ABM-potence: Bush Pulls Out Early
This week, Bush's handlers announced that the United States will be unilaterally withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. This occurred after several failed attempts to articulate the United States' position on the treaty during arms negotiations. Of course, the failed attempts at articulation were aimed at Former Governor Bush. Russia understands our position just fine, thank you.
Don't let this light intro give the false impression that I'm merely amused at Dubya's plan to junk a treaty that he clearly lacks the mental horsepower to understand. I'm angry as hell about this. The arguments in favor of the treaty and against the missile defense shield (Star Wars II: The Imbecile Strikes Back) have been made by everybody, including me (see "Missile Defense: Terrorists Have the Last Laugh"). The issue I want to discuss today is the impact of allowing a man of such limited intellect to ascend to the presidency.
During the 2000 presidential election, Bush's recurring campaign theme was basically the following:
I'm not smart enough to run the country, but I promise I'll hire some people who are.
Lots of Americans signed on. After all, the president was really just a speech reader, right? Bush's performances in the presidential debates proved to the world that he could commit a couple of policy talking points to short-term memory well enough to fill the minute or two allowed to answer questions. This remarkable display of "trained seal" mental prowess, combined with very little drooling and farting during the debates, reassured an anxious nation. Relax, America. Here is a man who could read a tele-prompter while maintaining that feigned-look-of-concern forehead wrinkle, and who says he will hire some smart people to handle the "work" portion of the job. How can we lose? Are you tired of a president who can't keep his pants zipped? My fellow Americans, we give you a leader who can barely work a zipper!
The problem with that silly U.S. Constitution is that its authors assumed that Americans would elect somebody worthy of wielding actual authority. With this misconception in mind, they vested some powers in the office of the president, including the ability to make treaties. Dubya never signed on for that crap. Read speeches, shake hands, take month-long vacations? Fine. But negotiate treaties? Do you know how many words there are in the ABM treaty? More than a hundred, I'll bet. So rather than put all of that wear and tear on his lips from reading it, Bush decided to just scrap the damn thing and get back to his personal quarters in time for Wheel of Fortune.
It wasn't as if Bush was alone on this one. Condelezza Rice said that ABM thing wasn't worth reading, and having probably read the whole thing herself, she should know! Who is Bush to argue? Of course, Colin Powell disagrees, but nobody really trusts a guy who didn't figure out a way to weasel out of going to Vietnam. Hell, this guy went twice! How smart can he be? And every time Dick Cheney attempted to weigh in on the subject, that annoying pulse monitor alarm would go off and then here come the guys with the paddles. Gotta be a sign from God.
America is learning a dangerous lesson in the use of presidential power: Members of a president's cabinet can be smart as hell, but sometimes they disagree. On the occasions when that occurs, guess who gets to break the tie?
Heeeerrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee's Georgie!
Kids, we just had thirty years of carefully crafted international arms diplomacy scrapped by a guy who says "nu-cue-lar" instead of "nu-cle-ar." I am genuinely ashamed of those Americans who put this guy in a position to do this to us and to the world.
. . .The Angry Liberal
12/14/01
