A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency (45 page)
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Authors: Glenn Greenwald
Tags: #Government - U.S. Government, #Politics, #United States - Politics and government - 2001- - Decision making, #General, #George W - Ethics, #Biography & Autobiography, #International Relations, #George W - Influence, #United States, #Presidents & Heads of State, #Political Science, #Good and Evil, #Presidents - United States, #History, #Case studies, #George W - Political and social views, #Political leadership, #Current Events, #Political leadership - United States, #Executive Branch, #Character, #Bush, #Good and evil - Political aspects - United States, #United States - 21st Century, #Government, #United States - Politics and government - 2001-2009 - Decision making, #Government - Executive Branch, #Political aspects, #21st Century, #Presidents
The most ironic—and most revealing—aspect of the erosion of America’s moral credibility is that the reprehensible policies that caused it were “justified” as necessary steps in a moralistic mission. The president’s moral certitude is what enabled, is what spawned, some of the most amoral acts in our country’s history.
The Manichean warrior recognizes no limits on the weapons he uses to annihilate the Evil enemies. Those who begin with the premise that they are intrinsically and by divine entitlement on the side of objective Good view any weapons they use as, by definition, just and necessary. Thus, the president who vowed to the world that he would demonstrate the values that have made this country great, thereafter systematically violated those very values to the point where our country is no longer defined by them. The epic challenge in the aftermath of the Bush presidency is the restoration of those national values, a rehabilitation of our national character, so that American morality and credibility are, once again, more than empty slogans in presidential Manichean war speeches. That is the tragic legacy George W. Bush leaves behind for America.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
One of the principal advantages of writing a daily political blog is that virtually every aspect of blogging is collaborative. Between one’s own readers and other bloggers, every idea is elaborated on and challenged, every error quickly detected and corrected, every undiscovered fact revealed. The views of anyone who spends substantial time reading political blogs—as I do—are the culmination of constant exposure to all of those varied sources. Many of the arguments and observations in this book are the by-product of that collaborative process, even when it is impossible to trace the genesis of a specific idea.
Two individuals—one blog reader and one blogger—were indispensable in my writing this book. Therese Sarah, a longtime reader, volunteered to assist with the research and found even the most obscure information with absurd ease. Mona Holland, a fellow blogger, provided aggressive line-by-line editing that substantially improved and focused the manuscript, and also contributed original ideas that bolstered several of the arguments. Additional thanks to Marilyn Klubenspies, Jennifer Nix, and Werner Achatz.
Sean Desmond, my Crown editor, played a central role in shaping this book from its inception. His suggestions and guidance were uniformly wise, even when I initially resisted them. He oversaw the writing of this book with the ideal mix of encouragement, constructive criticism, and even a little pressure when necessary. Working on a book of this scope is much easier and more fulfilling when one has a smart and insightful editor.
And finally, my infinite and eternal thanks to David Miranda Greenwald, who is the one who makes everything possible.
ALSO BY GLENN GREENWALD
How Would a Patriot Act?
Defending American Values from a President Run Amok
Copyright © 2007 by Glenn Greenwald
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Crown is a trademark and the Crown colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Greenwald, Glenn.
A tragic legacy: how a good vs. evil mentality destroyed the Bush presidency / Glenn Greenwald.—1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946–—Political and social views. 2. Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946–—Ethics. 3. Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946–—Influence. 4. United States—Politics and government—2001—Decision making. 5. Good and evil—Political aspects—United States—Case studies. 6. Political leadership—United States—Case studies. 7. Character—Case studies. 8. Presidents—United States—Biography. I. Title.
E903.3.G74 2007
973.931092—dc 22 2007010813
eISBN: 978-0-307-39521-4
v1.0