A Blind Squirrel and Bush . . .

In yesterday’s NYTIMES, David Brooks made what appears to be the strongest argument on behalf of the Bush presidency, and Iraq policy in particular. (Though, strong is hardly a word for it.) The argument is that Bush, in his infinite stubbornness went to war in Iraq. His stubbornness frustrated the “purpose” of the war and created a mess. He kept approaching Iraq with the same stubbornness when it came to the “surge.” All of his military advisers and his Secretary of State thought that the surge was a bad idea, yet Bush, stubbornly went ahead with the plan. In Brooks’ words:

In these circumstances, it’s amazing that George Bush decided on the surge. And looking back, one thing is clear: Every personal trait that led Bush to make a hash of the first years of the war led him to make a successful decision when it came to this crucial call.

Bush is a stubborn man. Well, without that stubbornness, that unwillingness to accept defeat on his watch, he never would have bucked the opposition to the surge.

Bush is an outrageously self-confident man. Well, without that self-confidence he never would have overruled his generals.

Brooks may be well impressed with Bush’s stubborn decision and his willingness to keep pushing the same button, or keep filling in the same oval. His whole argument however, seems to break down to a long explanation of the old saw that, “even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile.”

Yes, Brooks is correct that in politics and throughout history, no one side is right all of the time. However, I don’t think it is too much to ask of an American president that they try and find the right answer. Bush is the guy who sits down to the standardized test and answers “C” on every question. And sometimes he is “correct.” But this isn’t the approach I want from my politicians. I want someone who THINKS and recognizes that sometimes the answer is “C” and sometimes the answer is “A”, “B” or “D” and that all options ought to be, at the very least, considered. Some appreciation of nuance would be nice. The president that always answers “C” is the president that fails.