Long lost writing - George Bush And Faith

checking through some old material that I had written, but never published, I came across the following. Surprised myself, to be honest, I like it a lot, but never got back to it. Luckily, George Bush makes this stuff never go out of style. Here it is,

Faith, the antithesis of proof – The case against George Bush

George Bush gets an overwhelming amount of his support from people who admire his faith (even though, it appears to not be clear what that faith really is). Large percentages of “regular church goers” support Mr. Bush. And his political brain, Karl Rove, clearly believes that reaching out to more “people of faith” is a key to winning the presidency again. Mr. Bush’s speech at the Republican National Convention in New York was aimed at those voters and more importantly was aimed at showing how much faith Mr. Bush has in America’s present course.

Soldiers in combat have to have faith as well, of various beliefs and practice. To enter into combat, and to put your life into the hands of their fellow soldiers, they must look within their own souls and hearts not simply for hope of a safe return but for acceptance of the falling of their comrades and possibly their own

However, for survival and success, soldiers must also carry an attitude and a competence embodied in the Marine saying “Adapt, Improvise and Overcome.” While we have the most capable, most well-equipped and best trained military in world history, missions do not go as planned.

And when they do, while faith may steel one’s nerves, without adapting and improvising, mere faith that they will overcome will not protect them or secure the mission. Faith is the antithesis of proof; and for success, it is necessary but not sufficient.

What has made George Bush dangerous as President, for soldiers, innocent Iraqi civilians and our younger generations, is that Mr. Bush sees faith as the only necessity for leadership. And that’s where this President has grossly failed this country. He believes Faith is all that is necessary, and to often is slow to adapt and incompetent at improvising. In the face of the many problems we have faced, Mr. Bush has shown a steely resilience, but he has not shown a willingness to adjust to objective reality.

Where George Bush seems to care, he has been dangerous, on taxes, in Iraq and on gay marriage. Where he doesn’t care, on education, medicare, the environment, and stem cell research, he uses his professed spiritual faith as a cover for the cravenness of his policies. What makes his one of the most dishonest administrations in history, is the cynical way in which he believes that his faith serves, not a spiritual need, but merely a rhetorical one. As he stood before the Republican National Convention and proposed a $1 trillion dollars in spending on programs which his party has had three years of near total control of government to enact, it was easy to see that in many ways, his campaign is aimed at overcoming only the imposition of objective reality into the debate.

Mr. Bush did not have to be this President. He had a mandate - from a deadlocked election - to govern from the center, and he had campaigned largely in the center. But time and again he has relied on his faith, to guide him to the right answers; and he has not wavered from his course, despite the clear failure of his policies.

When Mr. Bush came into office, it was clear that a tax-cut was possible, indeed, probably deserved. It would be easy to understand a conservative President passing a tax cut at a time when the budget was in surplus. However, Mr. Bush’s faith in putting money back in people’s hands overwhelmed the empirical support for cutting taxes. Even when it was clear that the tax cuts he proposed would cost trillions if permanent, he did not waver, or more appropriately, adapt. He simply made them “temporary” and declared success. Now, that our budget deficit is higher than at any time in the history of the Republic, Mr. Bush’s faith again has trumped adaptation and improvisation. He proposes that he made a mistake when he signed that temporary tax cut, and wants to make it permanent.

Bush has never shown any ability to overcome failure, merely the ability to toss away the offending problem. He made bad grades; he didn’t work harder but became an anti-intellectual. He struggled in business in general, but particularly so as oil executive; he slinked away, his family having bailed him out. He spent a decade partying and developing a chemical dependence; he then turned into an evangelical teetotaler. He ran for the Presidency and lost the popular vote; rather than reach out he has governed as if the 48 % he won in 2000 was sufficient support to be President again.

Mr. Bush has offered this country a government that is unresponsive, paralyzed by indecision in the face of new events and unwilling to improvise for fear of admitting mistakes. Infallibility and lack of earthly intervention are expected qualities in a deity, but those who pray to such must realize they may not aspire to the former and honor no god by the latter. Ronald Reagan once said of his own religiosity that he was “going forward with values that have never failed us when we lived up to them.” George Bush’s Presidency is the ultimate example of what happens when you don’t.

George Bush and his advisors failed to plan a war that forced the enemy to surrender; failed to plan for the occupation; failed to plan for the reconstruction of the country; failed to plan for the widespread and dangerous cultural divisions within Iraq; and has failed to provide for a timely and secure hand over of sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Despite all this, he expects us to trust his “plan” to create democracy in the Middle East.

There’s faith and there is insanity folks. The difference between the two is one’s exposing faith to reality and adjust, rather than repeat the same failure over and over again.