By Walter Brasch, YellowTimes.org  

Usually it takes years, even decades, for a political leader to develop his legacy. George W. Bush, over-achiever that he is, has done it in about 18 months. And there's still two and one-half years left for him to expand that legacy.

Bush, the semi-smart smirking statesman, has already told the Palestinians he didn't want them voting for Yasser Arafat to chair the PLO. He has botched discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and undoubtedly he has alienated or at least infuriated Secretary of State Colin Powell. Now he is planning to overthrow the government of another nation.

Juveniles who don't really want to fight, yet want to make a statement will claim, "My father can beat up your father." In George W.'s case, his father couldn't finish off Saddam Hussein so the mantra now is, "I'll do what Daddy didn't." This is a pre-emptive invasion against a sovereign nation! The vice-president and the attorney general are too old to enlist, neither served in the military, yet both are salivating at the thought of the invasion. Does anyone else have a problem with the leader of one country deciding that Texas imperialistic cowboy vigilante justice is how we should be portraying America to the rest of the world?

Ashcroft created a system in which suspects can be summarily identified as enemy combatants, held indefinitely without charges being filed, their names not released to the public, and their rights to attorneys abridged. His belief in secret tribunals is more a philosophy of King Henry VIII (and now America's George III) than Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He also has whittled the USA Patriot Act to allow the government to violate numerous other civil rights.

A federal district court has finally ruled that the government was wrong to detain people and refuse to release their names. Even if the Department of Justice appeals, and all the appeals are denied, Ashcroft and Bush still have almost 10 months of freedom to violate the freedom of others.

Now Ashcroft proposes RAYN DOWN ("Rat on Your Neighbor/DO What's Necessary"), but euphemistically calls it the more sugary "TIPS." Ashcroft would have holier-than-Gabriel terrorist-fearing citizens trumpet the evil deeds of "suspicious" citizens to the police. This is similar to the programs that helped fuel the Nazi Party's dominance before World War II, the Communist witch hunts of the 1950's, and the FBI and other agencies that kept maliciously false records against anti-war and civil rights leaders during the 1960's. Only under intense pressure from senators in both major parties, did Ashcroft finally back down and say he didn't really mean all that stuff he said about amateur spies. He now believes the government should only record complaints, and not keep a database that could haunt Americans for decades. It's "tips" all right - the tip of an iceberg that would further destroy civil liberties.

Dick Cheney, who has seldom met a honest or corrupt business leader that he didn't like, equates those who protest the administration's handling of just about anything to those who give aid and comfort to the enemy. Bush himself opposes all independent commissions to investigate the nation's apparently botched intelligence gathering agencies, the handling of the nation's security following 9/11, or any governmental action or inaction. Nevertheless, according to the Associated Press, by a 215-189 vote, with 25 Republicans in the majority, the House of Representatives voted to establish an independent 10-member bipartisan commission. Bush claims the commission would "cause a further diversion of essential personnel from their duties fighting the war." It's a nice piece of rhetoric that serves only to make people believe that a government has no responsibility to be honest.

After 9/11, the administration claimed it needed to sacrifice civil liberties for homeland defense. Ironically, Americans have become this administration's willing lambs. Almost every time the administration unfurls the flag and declares it's necessary to keep secrets because it's protecting the people, the president's approval ratings go up. However, the latest numbers, combined with public opinion, may be the most important. As stated by the Bureau of Statistics and Department of Labor, sales of existing homes in a declining economy plunged 11.7 percent in June, and first time unemployment claims in July were 362,000. Equally important, according to a Gallup poll, 45 percent of all Americans say they are worse off financially than they were a year ago. Only 32 percent say they are better off. Bush's high popularity ratings are an illusionary bubble created by the desire of Americans of all political views, social and economic classes, to unite against a common enemy. It should not be seen as support for the man, but for the country and the Presidency itself.

Bush says he will veto proposed legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security if the bill includes language allowing the workers to be under civil service protection or to be members of unions. Again invoking the catchall word "terrorism" to advance a political agenda, the Commander-in-Business says he needs "flexibility" to be able to move people in the national interest. But even the most naive observer has to know that Bush has no desire to be "flexible," and has every desire to destroy worker rights while skirting official governmental policies that advocate collective bargaining. Perhaps Bush needs to reflect that almost every firefighter, every police and port authority officer, and every emergency medical service worker who responded with courage and heroism to the events at the World Trade Center was not only protected by civil service rules but was also a member of a union.

During the 2000 Presidential election, Bush and a forest of Republicans vigorously argued their plan to allow Americans and the federal government to invest social security funds in American business. The Democrats vigorously opposed. During the past year, even with a business-friendly White House, dozens of executives of major corporations have been charged or are being investigated for numerous federal violations, including fraud, insider trading, and - if it could be illegal - greed and stupidity.

Workers have been losing their jobs and pensions, while the executives, even those under indictment, have gotten richer from numerous deals they cut. Americans' confidence in American business is at one of its lowest levels, leading the stock market to drop faster than a bumble-fingered juggler. Although Bush mouthed the words others wrote for him ranting against corporate greed, he still believes in privatization of social security funds. But try to find an elected Republican who will say anything positive about investing social security funds in the stock market.

Bush is languidly whistle-stopping America from his ranch in Crawford, Texas during August to let us know we should have confidence in American business. This series of well-orchestrated pseudo-events complete with bands and photo ops might help some of us feel better about losing our jobs, but it's doubtful that this former corporate executive's meetings with Americans will do much to assure us he "feels our pain" at corporate betrayals.

Finally, just about everything Americans need to know about this President is not wrapped up in what he does or says, but in what he hasn't done. Once a month, several White House staffers get together for a discussion of current literature and social issues. Guests often include best-selling authors. Among those who haven't attended the discussions have been the Vice-President-in-Hiding, former librarian Laura Bush, and the "education president."

[Walter Brasch's latest book is "The Joy of Sax: America During the Bill Clinton Era." Dr. Brasch, a professor of journalism, is the author of 14 books. He is a former newspaper reporter and editor, and national award-winning syndicated columnist.]

Walter Brasch encourages your comments: wbrasch@planetx.bloomu.edu