A Careless Man. George W. Bush's memoir is telling and well written, but his overmatched presidency was a mess.
Joe Klein certainly does not refrain from making a claim in his article revolving around George W. Bush's recently released presidential memoir. However, I am having a bit of difficulty discerning what claim is to be used as his "claim sentence." Therefore, it is proving equally difficult to pinpoint a concession. At points in the article, Klein gives praise for various aspects of Bush and his presidency. Likewise, he also condemns the former Commander-in-Chief for having a waste of a presidency. Like me, Klein seems to be unable to decide what to do. Therefore, I am forced to turn to the varying fonts and font sizes on page 29 of Time Magazine. Thankfully, whoever edited good ole Joe's work seemed to decide that his claim is this sentence:
"Bush breezes through fundamental and earth-shattering decisions without slowing to acknowledge their moral complexity."
These words were worthy of being enlarged and placed in their own personal corner of the print edition of Time in addition to joining their less than fabulous buddies in the actual article. Thank God I receive the magazine in print, or I may have been forced to search fruitlessly for a ridiculous amount of time before conceding that I could not decide and subsequently choosing a sub-par sentence as Klein's claim. Commence prayers of thanksgiving.
Now that I have decided on a claim, it should be fairly simple to decide on a concession, unfortunately I will have to quote more than one sentence to convey it in a manner that gets the point across.
"Bush's effort is all that, but better than most. It reads well. The anecdotes are occasionally revealing. There is emotion, and it is real."
This is most definitely an appropriate concession because it is a complete contrast from the claim, and in other respects, Bush's presidency. Klein decides that the memoir flows correctly whereas the 8-year term flowed with an air of haste and waste.
The Support
1. "At the most important moments of his presidency — most notably, the decision to go to war in Iraq — he refuses to honestly consider opposing points of view or see the long-term, ancillary effects of what he is deciding."
2. "It was an understandable reaction, but an emotion he never quite transcended or transformed into strategic thought."
- This quote immediately follows the statement that Klein quoted from Bush after he found out about the 9/11 disaster. Bush remained in the Florida class where the students were reading "The Pet Goat." Klein describes the President as "impassive." Shouldn't this be seen as a bit of an alarm for future voters in the 2004 election? Was he in shock? I have no idea. I wasn't there when Bush heard the news, but I hope for the sake of our country that his lack of obvious emotion was shock and not, well, a lack of obvious emotion.
- Klein highlights the absence of a mention of the tip from the Clinton national-security team about the possible interferences from al-Qaeda in the memoir. In all fairness, I can only imagine the number of empty threats the President has to deal with. One tip would not cause me to go to war either.
- What?!? There was a second tip, from the CIA this time, on August 6, 2001 that warned of an al-Qaeda attack on the homeland? Hindsight is 20/20, but a second - dare I say - credible threat reached the ears of the presidency and he still didn't do anything of consequence.
- Klein also points out that Bush "never stops to wonder" that perhaps the U.N. inspectors were being allowed in to Iraq by Saddam Hussein because the weapons of mass destruction did not in fact exist. Klein gained some respect points from yours truly for his appropriate and rather humorous utilization of sarcasm here.
3. "Bush's was an exhausting presidency that will, I suspect, be remembered more for its waste — of time, lives, money, moral standing and economic strength — than for anything else."
I can honestly say that I agree with Joe on this one. Upon reviewing the article, I'll admit that Bush's presidency seemed to be lacking in a way that will never be reconciled. However, I also have to give credit where credit is due. Bush was the President! I assume that position if nothing if not stressful, and it is completely impossible to be liked by everyone. There is always going to be some opposition somewhere, and when there isn't, well, I hope I'm still around, if only so I can comment on someone else's opinion of the event in this blog. Bush was not a great military force to be reckoned with like Andrew Jackson nor was he an adequate military leader who stepped back when a more suitable general came along like Abraham Lincoln. Bush will most likely be remembered, if at all, by his failures and not by his successes. It most be difficult for Bush to bear the knowledge that even when he thought he was doing what's best, he wasn't. And because of his job, his mistakes will not be forgotten in his lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment