I guess practically every reader of JWN is well familiar by now with the campaign of that persistent and heroic woman, Cindy Sheehan. She’s been camping outside GWB’s vacation home in Crawford, Texas, trying to win a face-to-face meeting with the man whose disastrous decision to launch the invasion of Iraq resulted in the death of her son Casey, some 1,840 other US service-members, and scores of thousands of Iraqis and others.
Sheehan has already– around a year ago– had one face-to-face meeting with Bush. On Wednesday, Juan Cole published the excerpt from the Wolf Blitzer interview in which Sheehan described the bizarre, affect-less way that Bush behaved during that meeting:
- He didn’t even know Casey’s name. He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear anything about Casey. He wouldn’t even call him “him” or “he.” He called him “your loved one.”
Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject. And he acted like it was a party.
(See also Lakshmi Chaudry’s interview with Sheehan, on Alternet.)
So I’ve been thinking about George W. Bush. It’s clear that Ronald Reagan– a consummate acting professional– could have summoned an appropriate set of words and gestures to convey “comfort” to a recently bereaved mother. Indeed, given Reagan’s inability to recognize any clear distinction between acting and reality, he may well– once having been programed by his expert handlers to “perform” comfort-to-the-bereaved– have actually started to feel it. He did after all, have these sudden flashes of real human feeling from time to time during his presidency.
But the question I had about GWB was why, back during Sheehan’s June 2004 meeting with him– he could not even summon a performance of comfort-to-the-bereaved… Was he totally emotionally frozen??
Then I thought, why, maybe his emotional freezing-up at that time was the only thing that stood between his maintaining his amour propre as president and his completely losing it in face of the growing realization that his blithely embarked-upon, gung-ho adventure in Iraq was coming very badly unglued, indeed… With very real human consequences, as exemplified by the very real, grieving family then standing before him.
This may sound far-out. But I tested the proposition last night in a discussion with Bill and some friends. Bill recalled that something eerily like “losing it” in politically very similar circumstances was indeed what had happened to Israeli PM Menachem Begin back in September 1983.
What happened to Begin at that time has been referred to by Sam Lewis– then the US ambassador to Israel– as “his extraordinary self-imposed withdrawal from public life.”
September 1983 was 15 months after Begin’s government– at the intense urging of Ariel Sharon, then Israel’s Defense Minister– launched a full-scale invasion of Lebanon that was intended to “transform the political geography of the whole Middle East.”
By September 1983 it was clear the Israelis were stuck deep over their heads in Lebanon… The promised transformation was backfiring and the Israeli troops were stuck in a debilitating Lebanese quagmire from which it would take them a further 17 years to extricate themselves…
In June 2004, it was 15 months after Bush’s governement– at the intense urging of Ariel Sharon, then Israel’s Prime Minister– launched a full-scale invasion of Iraq that was intended to “transform the political geography of the whole Middle East.”
By June 2004 it was clear the US was stuck deep over its head in Iraq… The promised transformation was backfiring and the US troops were stuck in a debilitating Iraqi quagmire from which it would take them…
Well, you get the drift.
I guess the other thing that happened to Begin around September 1983 was that his wife had died.
I do wonder what role Laura Bush plays in providing counsel to her husband on the war and other issues???
Another difference between Begin and GWB: Begin was a very fully developed, intelligent, and well-informed adult personality, agree with him or not…
As for GWB???
Anyway, I still think this idea that his bizarre lack of appropriate affect in so many public encounters must be a key to something is this very weird guy’s personality…
I see it in much simpler terms. The guy is just a sociopath.
I see it in much simpler terms. As I see it the guy is just a sociopath who is too clueless to know how to even put on an act.
I think it
Gosh Helena you are one hell of a compassionate human being. With that said, maybe you are picking something up from our dear leader. My guess is that his phony smile is hiding his contempt for anyone trying to steal his show. James David Barber did a study that could be used to predict Presidential behavior. His suggests that Nixon and Bush share the most dangerous traits a leader can have, especially a second term Pres. If the predictions are true we have not yet seen what evil he is capable of yet.
Consider these statements made today by our Dear Leader:
“I understand the anguish that some feel about the death that takes place.”
“I also have heard the voices of those saying: ‘Pull out now!’ And
I’ve thought about their cry and their sincere desire to reduce the loss of life by pulling our troops out. I just strongly disagree.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/11/national/w103700D64.DTL
Notice the familiar references to “some” who feel anguished about death, and “those” who desire to reduce the loss of life. Our Dear Leader understands, but strongly disagrees with those misguided few.
Squeaky, you are so right – we have not yet seen the evil he is capable of. That’s why I wish for a face-saving exit – because I truly believe that W. would rather nuke the whole country of Iraq than have to admit he was wrong, or that the mission has failed. Cheney would rather nuke them anyway, as long it didn’t affect the oil.
I think Shirin may be closest to the truth about Bush. If he does have any emotional feelings for anyone or anything, he’s very carefully sealed off that part of himself and doesn’t enter that area. He knows how to mouth words about pain and anquish but one never gets the sense that he truly feels those emotions. He’s frightening in that he seems almost robotic when he tries to go through his presidentially obligatory acts of expressing sympathy.
Taobhan,
I am convinced that George W. Bush’s is a very disordered personality, and that those disorders include extreme narcissism, and sociopathy. I seem to recall a history of somewhat sadistic behaviour.
The guy is just a sociopath.
I truly believe that W. would rather nuke the whole country of Iraq than have to admit he was wrong, or that the mission has failed. Cheney would rather nuke them anyway, as long it didn’t affect the oil.
this place is a fever swamp. helena you should be ashamed of yourself for giving a forum to idiotic remarks like this. i thought you were a serious journalist. I intend to forward this post and its comments to everyone I know who has recommended your work. shame on you.
Adenauer, what are you up to? Are you trying to intimidate Helena and her readers? Forget it. Go and send out your tut-tutting e-mails. People are not stupid. Many of them will realise that this is a good blog and start reading it.
In other words, your bluff is called, Adenauer. Don’t be so silly in future, is my advice to you.
j. adenauer
I think John he is right, did you see what’s your troops did in Faluja? Did you see what your troop did in Haditha?
Did you see what your troops did in all the country of Iraq?
Do you know how much bomb power used in the war and how much equal in power of Hiroshima bomb?
I think you are far from knew any thing what going on their what we expected is worse not better and the time will tell you.
Just last think did you read the countdown for Iran War?
Do you prepared for this coming war?
You should feel ashamed from what your solders and officers did in Iraq, Abu Grab, Afghanistan and Guantamo not from Helena or what people like john saying what we see.
”The Bush team tried to discredit “Mom” by pointing reporters to an old article in which she sounded kinder to W. If only her husband were an undercover C.I.A. operative, the Bushies could out him. But even if they send out a squad of Swift Boat Moms for Truth, there will be a countering Falluja Moms for Truth.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/opinion/10dowd.html
It
“Sheehan’s detractors seek to depict her as a “patsy” being manipulated by anti-war liberals. By accusing her of somehow impeaching herself a year ago with kind comments about the president, they fuel the publicity surrounding her protest.”
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050810/sheehan_speaks_for_a_majority.php
I’m certainly not a supporter of George Bush, but I do feel some sympathy for his situation during his first meeting with Sheehan. On the same day he was meeting with her, he was meeting with 14 other sets of bereaved parents. Many of us might have felt some need to distance ourselves under those circumstances.
That said, I think Cindy Sheehan is amazing. Salah, I certainly don’t think she’s in this for the money.
“He didn’t even know Casey’s name. He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear anything about Casey. He wouldn’t even call him “him” or “he.” He called him “your loved one.”
Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject. And he acted like it was a party.”
Funny, isn’t it that this isn’t what she said last year? This is not a sincere protest, but a woman being used by radical groups. She even admitted that if he came out and met her she would “lose momentum”.
The alternative that the press, which is only showing us the bad side of Iraq and the protestors would leave us to is a pullout and abandonment of the Iraqis, just as in the war we were winning in Viet Nam. Ask the Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians how well that worked…oh, sorry, you can’t they were slaughtered.
Matt- Could you please point out the good side of the Iraq War? The press has been trying to do that for two years now and has not convinced me. or most of America for that matter. Your oft repeated ‘left wing controls the media’ implication is demonstrably false.
Matt, I invite you to travel throughout Iraq and point out to Iraqis the good side of what the Americans have done there by invading and occupying it.
Shirin,
Matt, I invite you to travel throughout Iraq and point out to Iraqis
Shirin I With you more over I will pay him his ticke to go to Iraq, on condition that he go without Hamvy controled trips!
By Ann Bertucci
CPATT Public Affairs
j. adenauer-
Harry Truman, a man of far greater practical experience and common sense than George W. Bush, used atomic weapons on Japan (twice), in order to avoid a costly invasion. Why is it crazy to think that Bush would use them on Iraq to avoid a costly defeat?
Sheehan is working with a political consultant and a team of public relations professionals, and now she is featured in a television ad.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/12/AR2005081201816.html
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