Myths, legends and reputations are powerful things. Once established as common knowledge or conventional wisdom, they are shatteringly hard to overcome. So and so is a jerk, such and such a place is lovely, or bug-infested or worse. It's hard to shake a myth once established. It's impossible if you don't even try.
One myth of our time is of George Bush as a strong compassionate leader. It's a convenient fallback position for journalists and reporters in a sound bite world. George Bush, fearless and steadfast. George Bush, strong and focused. George Bush, staying the course. George Bush, wrapping his arms around the downtrodden and offering words of comfort. But what evidence is there that he is either strong, focused or even compassionate? Starting with the biggest of myths, what evidence is there of George Bush as a strong leader?
The myth of George Bush as leader started in Texas but it was fine-tuned after 9/11. And it's been repeated ever since -- "he led the nation" "he picked us all up and gave us hope."
What a bunch of crap. Take a step back in time and look at the events on 9/11 and in the days after. First of all, George Bush spent 9/11 not leading the country but flying around the country on Air Force One. What pictures do we have of that day? George Bush staring out the window at the fighter pilots protecting him like a little kid. There are pictures of Cheney leading meetings; the government did function and some even say it was Cheney who authorized that any additional planes be shot down. But it functioned without Bush -- the leader was on the fly.
But the believers cry -- then he went straight to Ground Zero right? Remember the bullhorn?
I remember. I also know that it wasn't until September 14th that George Bush visited and grabbed the bullhorn. And he wasn't cheerleading at boarding school or Yale, he was standing on the smoldering grave on literally thousands of Americans. He was standing where they died and he all but cried "GIVE ME A W."
It wasn't a great performance -- it was an embarrassment by an out-of-touch man who had no concept of how egregious a failure it was that the attacks even occured, and still, to this day, has no concept that his inactions had quite conceivably led to the attack.
In many cultures and countries, if you are the President or the Prime Minister, and your country suffers a complete meltdown and allows terrorists to attack your seat of power and your largest financial center, the least you do is resign. In many countries, suicide would be an expected matter of fact, and honor.
Here? It was spun into George Bush's finest moment. Think about the incredible sickness of that. We were attacked. Thousands died, fathers, sons, daughters, mothers, firefighters and policemen and they're still finding body parts, and some call it Bush's 'finest hour.'
But he couldn't have gotten there sooner right?
Bill Clinton was literally on the other side of the world. And he made it to Ground Zero long before George Bush did.
So the days after Katrina weren't a deviation, they were more of the same. George Bush was out of touch and a more than one step away from reality.
Was he a strong and decisive leader at the first Presidential debate last year? No. In fact, when he was faced with a human being and not the caricature of John Kerry his advisers had fed him, he absolutely crumbled.
Time and time again, when Americans need help, when the heat is on, George Bush is nowhere to be found.
Actually, now that I think about it -- my two year old has better leadership instincts than our President. When someone cries out, or falls down on the playground, she runs TOWARDS them, not away.
But the myth continues, the legend builds. And not only do Democrats not see it as myth, not attack it as myth, not attempt to lift the veil of the myth and show the true face of George Bush to the world, when given the opportunity to question the facade, they decline and in fact, enable the narrative to exist and grow.
Case in point:
Bob Shrum, on HARDBALL this week - "he led the country in such a brilliant way in those weeks after 9/11." (Read more on Bob Shrum's appearance here.)
Those weeks after 9/11 -- let's think about that with a little 20/20 hindsight and knowledge. Was he brilliant as he tried to pin the 9/11 attacks on Saddam? Or was he brilliant when he was walking the White House halls giving two thumbs up on the plan to attack Iraq? Maybe he was brilliant when his government said the air was fine to breathe, with full knowledge it wasn't.
And this isn't some Republican flack hyping Bush. This is one of our own. No wonder the Kerry campaign was unwilling to even consider bringing up 9/11 -- they drank the Kool Aid too. No wonder that despite all the current troubles, Republicans still get higher marks on 'keeping America safe' because evidently, at the core, a lot of Democrats are saying it too.
I mean, can you imagine Ken Mehlman saying:
"Bill Clinton is one of the most remarkable politicians and people I've ever met."
Or can you see this quote from Dick Cheney popping up:
"I applaud Howard Dean for what he did in the last election; energizing Americans from all walk of life and leading them into the political process."
It's almost humorous. But not really. Because when we buy into the myth, when we perpetuate the legend, when we support the narrative, what chance do we possibly have?