Intellect, Virtue, Leadership

I do not view President Bush as an intelligent man. I do not say that to denigrate him. Some people are smart and others, like me, are not. As we well know the similarities between President Bush and me do not matter except for the fact he is the President of the United States of America. (Big Sigh)

My intuition tells me I could have been a better President of the country than President Bush could. In fact, I would like to be President for eight years to undo the damage he has done. I am ready. I am not soliciting campaign donations. Do not write my name on the ballot in November 2008. However, before you vote in 2008, you should think about Lynn being a better President than President Bush is. That should trigger thoughts about the wealth of talent in the United States who would be a better President than President Bush ever could be.

I think the mature person goes through stages when assessing their leaders, especially those that we do not find up to the jobs we give them. At the beginning of President Bush’s reign, I found his arrogance infuriating. His disregard for the people he purported to govern bordered on the obscene. His rash and foolish invasion of Iraq confirmed my suspicions about him. Now, he does not anger me. That he does not anger me allows me to write this polemic.

Politics, at its best, should rise above personal enmities. However, a man can destroy the boundaries between all political theories and one’s personal tastes. Conservatives hated President Clinton even though he further broke the fetters holding global capitalism, balanced the budget, destroyed the safety net for poor and working people, and other projects so-called conservatives dearly love. His crime was accomplishing well-cherished conservative projects better than conservatives ever could. He was the classic case in personal animosity and enmity.

The character of the man who is your leader counts. The leader’s motives count too. Some people say that we should not worry about motives, but stick to the facts. Well motives matter. Motives are facts just like any other fact. We, as human beings, naturally and unconsciously assess others’ motives. It is baked into the cake we call ourselves. I have no time for those who say I should not worry about motives. Those who say it try to obfuscate their intentions and divert criticism from their opinions.

Just what are President Bush’s motives? I do not see him as an evil man. I think he is deficient in intelligence though. I see him as a petulant boy who has never grown up. He never had to think about anything important. He concentrated on trivial matters such as election to public office. He is a bully who depends upon the privilege he has always known to win the day for him. That works for every job he could have had except President of the United States.

Now, President Bush has to face his biggest test. He must confront the majority will of the American people. Bullshit and bullying tactics will no longer win the fight. I stand in the midst of popular opinion and he stands outside it. I, the person who was born at the bottom, without wealth and privilege, have the privileged position now. The one thing President Bush covets most, the approbation of popular opinion, he does not have. However, I have the approbation of popular opinion. Things that I said four years ago, things that enraged people, now sound like wisdom or at least common sense. I take great satisfaction in that, for I am one of the sovereign rulers of the country. President Bush does not know the concept of sovereign ruler in a constitutional democracy. He thinks he is the sovereign ruler, yet the majority elected him at their pleasure, not his. Now, we, the majority, are not pleased or amused with him.

Some people on the left say that it is not right to criticize the incompetence of a person of little intellect such as President Bush, for it blurs the distinction between his ability, motives, and ultimate ends. To Hell with that. Incompetence is the best tool to destroy those projects and policies you most detest. The Bush Administration has mastered the technique. That is not to say a person of little intellect such as President Bush would ever be capable of doing anything right. He never had to during his life. He never formed the habit. He does not know how to do anything right.

I agree with Aristotle that virtue is a habit. You cannot learn about it in a book. To be prudent you must practice prudence. President Bush never had to practice that virtue. People always paved the way for him. We see the results. Iraq.

We know who the front-runners are for the Democratic Party’s choice as President in 2008. I say to them, show me your virtues. Show me your intellect. Do not substitute a sexually repressed virtue that is not a virtue. Show me some prudence. Indicate to me that you know the meaning of the word. If you grew up as a rich boy or girl, I doubly suspect you. You may yelp at my bigotry regarding your privilege, but that is the albatross around your neck you were born with just as poverty is the albatross which others were born with. You get no free pass for having money and graduating from the country’s best universities. You candidates for President do not intimidate me. You are shit in my eyes until you can prove me differently. Shit you shall remain if you cannot prove it.

As for all you Republican candidates for President, go to Hell. I will never vote for you out of sheer retribution for the Presidency of Bush. You sold your souls for the favor of a man with little intellect and no virtue.

Yes, I can see I have matured.