Bush Has Lost All Dignity; Americans All Judgement

By being a 'Vietnam deserter' and sending the children of others to die in Iraq, has President Bush lost the legitimacy to rule? According to this broadside against President Bush from China's state-controlled Oriental Morning Post, 'In the delusion of comfort they've sunk into, Americans chose a cruel cowboy to be their President. The bill for making such a choice is finally coming due.'

By Qin Yong

Translated By Mark Klingman

December 5, 2006
China - Oriental Morning Post - Original Article (Chinese)

Recently, an encounter between President Bush and newly-elected Virginia Senator Jim Webb made a little news in Washington. Analysis of their exchange became a hot talking-point for the news media throughout the U.S.

The incident took place at the end of November. As usual, Bush gave a White House reception for newly-elected members of Congress. Among these members was James Webb, from the state of Virginia. Webb had won in the recent mid-term election against the incumbent Republican opponent, Senator George Allen, who previously had been a popular contender as a presidential candidate in 2008.  Unexpectedly, dark-horse candidate Webb won by a slim margin, and became the key to the Democratic Party's edge in the Senate.  Hence, Webb became an overnight star.

But there is another reason that Jim Webb is remarkable. He comes from the group of original Reagan Republicans. After joining the Marines as a young man, he was appointed secretary of the Navy by Reagan. In that role he publicly rebuked Jane Fonda and other anti-war activists. But he opposed the Iraq War from the very beginning and finally won election in the Senate by speaking out against that war. Today his son is also a Marine, risking his life in Iraq.

[Editor's Note: According to The New Yorker magazine, Webb was recruited into the Reagan Administration by a Republican official who had once heard him being interviewed on the radio. The interviewer, talking to Webb about his book "Fields of Fire," mentioned that Jane Fonda was in town and asked Webb whether he might wish to meet her. "Jane Fonda can kiss my ass," Webb replied. "I wouldn't go across the street to watch her slit her wrist ]."

On entering the White House, Webb declined to exchange greetings with Bush, walking out of the Congressional receiving line. Bush then took the initiative to say hello to him: "How is your boy?" Webb immediately said: "I'd like to get them out of Iraq." He intentionally replaced "he" with "them," broadening his meaning from just his son to all the soldiers in Iraq. Undiplomatically, Bush responded: "That's not what I asked. I asked, how is your boy?" Webb declared: "Mr. President, that's between me and my boy!" Having said this, he swaggered away.

There is a custom in American politics: even in the midst of a heated dispute between political opponents, everyone must be polite. Such impolite exchanges in Congress are unheard of. The President is the President no matter how low his approval rating is, and should have the respect that is due his office. If the President enters a room, everyone must stand up, for example. Even in the depths of Clinton's notorious sex scandal, this custom was never broken. In this sense, such a spurning of Bush ought to have been to Webb's shame.

But when Webb's impoliteness to Bush first appeared in the Washington Post, it not only caused him no trouble with the public, it garnered him the reputation of a heroic anti-war figure. One Virginia voter said: "I hate the kind of politician who campaigns that he will carry the voice of average folks to Washington, but once he gets there, he becomes cultivated, mild-mannered and offends no one."

In fact, Webb largely depended on the anti-war protest vote to get elected, and his mandate from the people is a strongly rebellious one. Up to now, the strongest protester against the war in Iraq has been mother Cindy [Sheehan]. Ever since her son died in Iraq, she has been seeking an explanation from Bush, who has refused to meet with her. If Shehan is the anti-war force working outside the system, Jim Webb is the force working inside. If she is the anti-war mother, then he is the anti-war father. And now that he's been elected to the Senate, Bush won't be able to ignore him. The voters expect him to carry on the protest in full view of Bush's.

Of course, this conflict also allows Bush his first "taste" of lame duck. He not only lost the support of both houses of Congress, but the basic respect of the voters. Over the Thanksgiving holiday a television commentator asked some passionate questions: "Why is a man who avoided the Vietnam War in his youth now making war in Iraq? Why are the children of others dying when none of his own are on the battlefield?"

When a leader falls into moral bankruptcy, he can never expect to regain the dignity worthy of a President. Bush represents conservatism, which currently has the upper hand. The Democratic Party which is now coming to power has a liberal wing that many fear might cause a split. House Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and other liberals are careful to be polite to the President for fear of being labeled extremists. But Webb is a conservative Democrat and doesn't go in for liberal hand-wringing. He has a conservative's directness and sense of purpose, coupled with the murderous eye of a young boxer [Webb was a boxer in his youth]. Ever since he announced his candidacy, he has never concealed his contempt for Bush. He is a fully-decorated Vietnam veteran whose son is on active duty in Iraq. Meanwhile, Bush's daughters are kept under the tightest security - when someone tried to steal their purse in Argentina it was front-page news. Could this be a way for Webb to bring Bush to account for his desertion during the Vietnam War?

When the leader has no dignity, the country can easily fall onto the wrong path. Historically speaking, the path to the U.S. presidency has often been through the battlefield, and for good reason: Only someone who knows what it's like to risk one's life has the moral authority to send the children of others into battle. We can only pity the Americans. Now that they have won the Cold War and gotten rich in the explosive growth of the 1990s, they have become corrupted by the wealth and power of their empire. In the delusion of comfort that they have sunk to, Americans chose a cruel cowboy to be their president. The bill for making such a choice is finally coming due.

Chinese Version Below

布什的"领袖尊严"还存在吗

早报美国特约撰稿人 薛涌 2006-12-05 07:04

最近，布什和新当选的弗吉尼亚州参议员金·韦伯的一番口角，成为华盛顿的新闻，也成了全美国媒体周末新闻分析的热点。

事情发生在11月底。布什按惯例，在白宫招待新当选的国会议员。其中包括弗吉尼亚州的金·韦伯。金·韦伯在此次中期选举中，对手是共和党在任参议员乔治· 艾伦。乔治·艾伦本是2008年总统大选热门。想不到，金·韦伯半路杀出，以微弱优势获胜，成了民主党在参议院中一票优势的关键。所以，金·韦伯一夜之间 成了全国明星。

金·韦伯出名，还有另一个原因。他原本属于典型的里根共和党人。年轻时为海军陆战队成员。在里根任上，出任海军参谋长，曾公开痛斥简·芳达等反战人士。不 过，他从一开始就反对伊战，最后终于以反战的旗帜参选。如今，他儿子作为海军陆战队的队员，正在伊拉克出生入死。

这次进白宫，他不屑与布什寒暄，离开了被接见的议员的行列。布什却主动找到他打招呼："你的孩子怎么样？"金·韦伯马上说："总统先生，我们要想办法让他 们离开伊拉克。"他把"他"换成了"他们"，意思是不想谈自己的孩子，要谈在伊拉克的全体美军士兵。布什并不知趣，马上再问："这不是我要问的。我问的是 你的孩子怎么样了？"金·韦伯大怒："总统先生，那是我和我孩子之间的事！"说罢扬长而去。

美国政治有个规矩：即使是政敌之间，大家争论归争论，见面还是要客客气气，国会打架的事情是看不到的。另外总统就是总统，不管支持率多低，大家对这个民选 最高统帅的职位要尊敬，比如总统进门要起立等等，即使克林顿被性丑闻搞得声名狼藉时，这个规矩也没破。从这个意义上讲，金·韦伯如此晒布什，对总统来说可 谓奇耻大辱。

可是，金·韦伯对布什失礼被《华盛顿邮报》首先曝出后，不仅没给他带来麻烦，反而使他成为反战人士的英雄。一位弗吉尼亚选民说："我最恨那种传统政客，选 举时许诺得好好的，要把老百姓的声音带到华盛顿，但真到了那里，马上穿上个西装，温文尔雅地成了好好先生，谁也不得罪。"实际上，金·韦伯在很大程度上是 靠反战的抗议票当选，他的做派也就有强烈反叛性。到目前为止，对伊战抗议最凶的大概莫过于反战母亲辛迪。她因儿子死在伊拉克，一直要找布什要个说法，布什 则拒绝见面。如果说她是体制外反战的话，金·韦伯则是体制内反战。他作为反战父亲，已经当选参议员，布什躲不开。选民指望他当面对布什抗议。

当然，这次冲突也让布什尝到了当瘸脚总统的滋味。他不仅失去了国会两院的支持，而且也失去了许多选民的基本尊重。在感恩节前，一位电视评论员充满激情地质 问："为什么那些自己年轻时想方设法逃避越战的人却发动了伊战？为什么别人的孩子在死的时候，他自己的孩子却没有一个在战场上？"

当一个领袖陷入道德破产时，就再也拿不起总统的尊严来了。布什本代表着正在得势的保守主义，民主党的自由派对他也畏惧三分，所以像即将上任的众议院领袖佩 洛西等自由派人士，在场面上对总统相当客气，生怕被指责为极端分子。但是，金·韦伯是个保守的民主党，他没有自由派那种心虚，反而有保守派那种理直气壮直 来直去的作风，再加上一身年轻时当拳击手练出来的杀气，就更是咄咄逼人了。他自从参选以来，就从不掩饰对布什的轻蔑。他自己是戴满奖章的越战老兵，儿子在 伊拉克出生入死的时候，布什的女儿却在严密的安全保卫下，在阿根廷旅游并曝出挨抢的新闻。他凭什么买布什这个当年的越战逃兵的账

当领袖没有尊严时，国家就会陷入迷途。历史上的美国总统，多是自己经过战阵，原因就是只有那些自己出生入死过的人，在把别人的孩子送上沙场时才有道德权 威。可惜，美国人赢得了冷战，又经历了上世纪90年代经济高速增长，被超级帝国的荣耀和财富所腐化，百姓沉于安逸，最后选了个只会扮酷的公子哥儿当总统， 如今终于到了付账的时刻。