Fatal Flaw

In his post A Small Man, Ezra notes:

George W. Bush is not up to the task of leadership. That's not said as a criticism, actually -- I am not up to the task of dancing, or running marathons. We all have failings, and Bush's essential flaw is an inability to project himself, an inability to grow in dimension during a crisis, an inability to sense that catastrophes serve as opportunities for strengthening the American community.

It will probably come as no surprise that Ezra is being kinder than I will be.

You see, Ezra’s a really good man, so I suspect that if he knew that a job he was considering taking meant that millions of people’s lives depended on his ability to dance, or run marathons, he wouldn’t take the job. George Bush—and not just Bush, but all the architects of the social Darwinist, every-man-for-himself conservative ideology that in the aftermath of Katrina is being exposed for the depraved, compassionless, anti-American bullshit that it is—knew well before Bush cast in his name as a potential leader that he isn’t up to the task of leadership. He was a half-assed soldier, a terrible businessman, and a bad governor. Anyone who had encountered him in any of these previous roles could attest to as much; it’s not as if Bush hadn’t been given ample opportunity to discern within himself that he isn’t up to the task of leadership. How many times does one have to flail on a dancefloor to know that he isn’t a good dancer?

I think it’s not only legitimate, but necessary, that Bush’s not being up to the task of leadership be levied at him as the most sincerest of criticisms. Someone who wants to spend 20% of his time on vacation isn’t fit to be president. Someone who can muster no more than “I’m not looking forward to this trip,” as he is about the survey the damage from perhaps the greatest natural disaster in the nation’s history isn’t fit to be president. Someone who sees this nearly inconceivable tragedy not, as Ezra notes, as an opportunity for strengthening the American community, but instead as the opportunity for a photo op—someone who indeed thinks that stellar photo ops making him look like a leader are more important than actually being a leadeer—isn’t fit to be president. And all of these things were patently obvious about George Bush well before he took office.

An insignificant, irresponsible slip of a man should never have put himself forth for this job in the first place, and having delusions of grandeur that allowed him to convince himself he was up to the task shouldn’t garner him a pass. You’re just not allowed to fudge your résumé when the lives of an entire nation are in your hands.

(Crossposted at Ezra's place.)