CLEANING UP THE BUSH MESS

by Peter Fredson

Katrina has come and gone and has left both the Gulf Coast and George Bush’s reputation soiled, in tatters, dirtied and in need of a lot of urgent repair. Bush’s credibility is close to zero in many reporters’ estimation; any statement he makes is self-serving and must be scanned carefully for deceit, misinformation and outright lies. His “dry-drunk” attitude, irritability and religious fervor is detrimental to his image of himself.

His entire administration has responded, although slowly, to the need to urgently refurbish both Bush and New Orleans, but the priority is to first clean up Bush. The favorite Karl Rove strategy is used: denigrate the opposition, deny all negative allegations, and use optimum propaganda tactics in the form of symbols, speeches, and a show of positive personality to charm the hell out of the dazed populace.

To that end Bush now ceaselessly grins, shows big smiles, shakes every hand in sight, kisses little black babies, pats people on the back, and hugs the poor, the disadvantaged, and the colored folk. This is all done in view of cameras; otherwise everything goes back to normal oblivion of poor and disadvantaged humans.

Everything is scripted; everything is carefully staged for maximum public effect, and often to the detriment of all other activities. Everything is show time, mainly for the benefit of True Believers because most of the public is disgusted with Bush and yearns to see him end his term as rapidly as possible and with as little damage to our democracy as possible. Bush as a politician reminds us of the false fronts of fake Western towns made-to-order for a John Wayne movie. All front, no back, nothing inside, it just looks real.

Everyone has seen the staged photo-ops, where Bush hands a sandwich to some “refugee”, moves on, and then the sandwich stand immediately closes down. Or Bush is shown watching a crane working on a levee, and as soon as he leaves the crane does too. Or, in order to get Bush in and out with as much fanfare as possible all disaster relief effort ceases so that the hero of Iraq can be photographed.

It is very important that he be photographed looking serious, looking at the flood, but he must contaminated water or people must not touch him. He must be photographed looking out of an airplane window, so people will get the definite impression, carefully cultivated, that he gives a damn. Then he flies back to his safe retreat while his crew figures out new propaganda gimmicks that might please his supporters.

Part of Republican strategy is to avoid any blame. “Playing the blame game” is a favorite political refrain today. “Don’t point fingers,” is popular, “Give a helping hand.” Even so, Bush had to, reluctantly and hesitantly, state that some of the blame for slowness in meeting the disaster relief was possibly, probably his. Of course, immediately after that first admission his entire crew pointed their fingers at local, county and state officials, absolving themselves in the eyes of their supporters.

So Bush has his entire cabinet and family, mom, daddy, daughters, brother, posing for the camera, making nice toward survivors that ordinarily they wouldn’t bother to look at and would never invite them to dinner. That goes over big with the church crowd as charitable.

So Bush must seen in front of nice symbols, nice buildings, giving speeches, promising tons of money as though it were his own, and positively stating that everything is going to be all right, fine and dandy. To ensure success Bush even gave a sermon-speech in a fine cathedral, with robed priests and choirs chanting sacred hymns, and lengthy rehearsed prayers, to intimate that God Mitt Uns indeed. If people get the impression that he is a sort of junior Jesus, then Hallelujah.

Yes, his supporters will rebuild New Orleans, will clean out the trash and inferior peoples, rebuild their mansions, casinos and fine suburbs, while leaving swamp land for the descendants of slaves who are used to living in shacks and eating garbage. Nothing will be too good for Bush supporters and corporations, and literally nothing will be exactly what the poor and dispossessed will get for whatever the developers leave of their property.

Estimates of 300 billion dollars for the renewal of the Gulf seem about right. Bush might as well just send the checks directly to the developers and contractors bank accounts, because that is where the money will eventually be deposited.

Trent Lott will get a fine new mansion surrounded by gardeners and servants working at below minimum wages.

Bush made sure that the first positive step he made in paying for the cleanup was to reduce people’s wages to whatever their overseers might be willing to throw to them.

Whistle-blowers on corruption of people stealing taxpayer money will be reduced in rank and pay, and will be lucky to keep any jobs at all.
We may expect a dozen new billionaires, and thousands more homeless people. This is the Bush pattern and, as you know, he likes to stay the course. Even if it is a failed course, that is the only course he knows, so he must stick with whatever didn’t work in the first place, and perhaps it will work the second or third time around. Or, if not, who cares?

Like, even if a corporation has been known relentlessly and regularly to be corrupt, investigation will be perfunctory or non-existent, fines will be gratefully accepted as the cost of doing business, and everything will be dandy. No Bushite will play the blame game.

But perhaps a couple of the “little people” will be jailed, fired or spanked. Perhaps some corporal did it, but never a colonel or general. And NEVER a high-ranking Republican crony of Bush, or even Bush himself. God Forbid!