The Anchoress looks at the lack of progress around the globe since the end of May and wonders if the Bush Administration has lost out on an historic opportunity.
On May 10th, I wrote Bush dances with free people; Albright danced with Kim Jong Il.
Does anyone remember April and May of 2005? And the months preceding them? The Orange Revolution? The Arab Springtime? The Cedar Revolution of Lebanon – all of them seeming to have a fire lit under them, a wonderful fire of liberty. Remember Revolution Babes?
All around the globe, there was a spirit of something that felt a lot like the Will to Power – something that was building in momentum like we were on the brink of something truly remarkable and historic and new.
Then, suddenly – poof! – it all stopped? It all just seemed to go away. It was like a big giant foot just came down and stomped out all of those wonderful fires and the White House seems to have just blink! Forgotten about it.
I like W a lot, but what the hell? Could it be that the press has finally broken him, somehow, and he’s afraid to make a move? You know what? I don’t think so.
For once, I don’t think this can be blamed on “the press.”
The momentum has stopped. Everything has come to a screeching halt. Is there something he’s not telling us?
There are two possibly explanations. One is that its summertime and things usually don’t happen in Washington between June 1 and the day after Labor Day. As the author points out, its also been pretty typical of the this Bush Administration to be inactive to the point of non-movement during the summer months.
Does anyone remember the summer before 9/11 ? The big story then was the Bush Administration’s position on stem cell research which was announced, as I recall, only a few days before the fateful events that caused the world to turn. Similar things happened during the summers of 2002, 2003, and even 2004 when it seemed like the election was all but lost.
At the same time, though, the world does not follow George W. Bush’s schedule, and that’s where the other possible explanation comes in.
There were things happening in the world, specifically the Arab world, this spring that meant something. Now, all of that seems to be forgotten and we’re back to the same old stories about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, and, of course, Iraq. Momentum is an important thing in the affairs of the world, and it does not change as easily as the weather forecast.
Right now, it doesn’t look good. For example, the Bush Administration seems to be losing the public relations battle on the War in Iraq. They’re just repeating the same lines over and over again, despite mounting evidence that large segments of the American public just aren’t buying it. This is important because a lack of support on Iraq will translate into a lack of support to confront Iran, or North Korea, or Syria.
Mr. President, its time to come back from Crawford and get back in focus.
