|
Time columnist says Bush 'unfit
to lead,' but pans impeachment talk
Mike Sheehan
Raw
Story
Saturday April 7, 2007
[UPDATE: See Klein's follow-up to his 'Time' column at end of this
article.]
Time columnist Joe Klein has written a scathing critique of President
Bush in the magazine's latest issue.
In a op-ed entitled "An Administration's Epic Collapse,"
Klein writes, "The three big Bush stories of 2007 -- the decision
to 'surge' in Iraq, the scandalous treatment of wounded veterans
at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the firing of eight U.S.
Attorneys for tawdry political reasons -- precisely illuminate the
three qualities that make this Administration one of the worst in
American history."
Klein, who gained fame as the anonymous author of the Clinton-era
political novel Primary Colors, lists the three qualities as arrogance,
incompetence and cynicism.
"Iraq comes first, as always," he continues. "From
the start, it has been obvious that personal motives have skewed
the President's judgment about the war. ... But never was Bush's
adolescent petulance more obvious than in his decision to ignore
the Baker-Hamilton report and move in the exact opposite direction"
by increasing the number of troops and using inappropriate strategy.
"There was no way he was going to accept [its findings] once
the press began to portray the report as Daddy's friends coming
to the rescue," Klein quotes a member of the Baker-Hamilton
commission.
"General David Petraeus has repeatedly said, 'A military solution
to Iraq is not possible,'" writes Klein. "Translation:
This thing fails unless there is a political deal among the Shi'ites,
Sunnis and Kurds. There is no such deal on the horizon, largely
because of the President's aversion to talking to people he doesn't
like."
Klein excoriates Bush over the Walter Reed scandal, particularly
in the seemingly hypocritical way the president accused Democrats
of favoring political battles at home over supporting troops abroad.
"Such demagoguery is particularly outrageous given the Administration's
inability to provide our troops 'what they need' at the nation's
premier hospital for veterans," says Klein.
"The mold and decrepitude at Walter Reed are likely to be
only the beginning of the tragedy, the latest example of incompetence
in this Administration," Klein continues. He quotes a veterans
activist who says, "The entire VA hospital system is unprepared
for the casualties of Iraq, especially the psychiatric casualties.
A lot of vets are saying, 'This is our Katrina moment.' And they're
right: this Administration governs badly because it doesn't care
very much about governing."
"His hyper-partisanship has proved to be a travesty of governance
and a comprehensive failure," Klein says of Bush. "I've
tried to be respectful of the man and the office, but the three
defining sins of the Bush Administration are congenital... They're
not likely to change.
"[I]t is increasingly difficult," concludes Klein, "to
imagine yet another two years of slow bleed with a leader so clearly
unfit to lead."
Despite the rancor expressed in his critique, and reacting to the
perception in some corners that he was obliquely condoning the indictment
and removal of the president, Klein vigorously denied hinting at
impeachment in a follow-up post at Time's Swampland blog.
"There are no 'high crimes' here," writes Klein. "Just
a really bad presidency. In fact, I consider impeachment talk counterproductive
and slightly nutso."
Klein's full Time column is available
at this link.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
