Role of a Lifetime

In Snatch, Bullet Tooth Tony warns, “You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.” To that end, I was not remotely surprised when in July of ’03, President Bush was quoted as saying in reference to the then-burgeoning insurgency in Iraq:

There are some who feel like that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring them on.

Well, now he has a direct response from those to whom that challenge was directed. As part of a campaign launched by Iraqi guerillas aimed at US troops, an English-language video has been issued with the following narrative:

George W. Bush; you have asked us to 'bring it on'. And so help me, (we will) like you never expected. Do you have another challenge? (Reuters via The Alternate Brain)

The video then shows explosions around a Humvee.

As evidenced by the results of November’s election, there are plenty of Americans drawn to Bush’s rogue cowboy style, including a majority of serving soldiers and military families. I wonder if that Texas drawl, that confident swagger, and those High Noon pronouncements seem as attractive now that you see they do little more than pique our enemy’s ire. How appealing is the 6-shooter bluster issued from the mouth of a man who wouldn’t serve himself, yet recklessly riles the enemies your sons and daughters have been sent to fight?

Watching Bush over the last four years has given me the impression that he knows and cares nothing about being president except for his love of playing the role. He likes dramatic entrances and playing dress-up and challenging dangerous insurgents to bring it on when American men and women are positioned on the front line that stands between the challenger and the nuts with the guns.



He appears to fancy himself the star of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, where the good guys can deliver a few pithy one-liners while handily routing their adversaries, emerging unscathed with nary a bruise or a scratch or a lingering case of post-traumatic stress disorder to speak of. The star of his own feature, President Bush rarely seems to think about the extras.

And oh what spectacular imagery there has been as the evil opponent was toppled. But our Commander in Chief gives the impression that imagery is all that matters. Whether it’s playing fighter pilot or waxing rhapsodic about how swimmingly things are going in Iraq, reality seems of little concern. But here’s a reality check: You told them to bring it on, and now they have. I hope you’ve got one hell of a twist in Act 2.