Tin Man

Tom Watson, back from his vacation, reinvigorated and renewed, tackles the question of how much grief does the President feel and when does he feel it?

One of Tom's regular commentators, another Tom, Tom K., cries foul, arguing that we can't know what's in the President's heart and so have no grounds to judge just how much pain he feels at having sent all those soldiers and Marines to their deaths.

I agree.  We don't know.  He may cry himself to sleep every night. He may have moments when the heartbreaking burden becomes almost too much to bear and he has to slip out of a meeting so that his aides don't see him break down and weep.  We don't know, although it would sure help if the ravages of the war's cost showed up a little bit in his face, as the Civil War marked Lincoln's, and he didn't grin when he talked about how much grief he feels and how heavy the troops' sacrifices weigh on his mind.

Tom K. thinks we should focus our arguments on the President's policy and not spend time debating whether Bush is the Tin Man before or after his visit to the Wizard---and did I hear someone point out that with and without a heart the Tin Man was still hollow?

But the degree of the President's grief and compassion would not be a question if an absolute public indifference to death wasn't part of the foundation of the administration's Iraq policy.  Right from the start, the Bush Leaguers proceeded as if the war was practically a training exercise, such an easy job, requiring a minimum of effort and costing hardly anything, in money or blood, that it would be a waste of time for voters to pay any attention---except when the President was on TV being cheered by the troops and declaring premature victory.  As I wrote in Tom Watson's comments, this studied public callousness has been part and parcel of the running of the War---"Nothing to see here, folks.  Move along."---and it is one of the many stupid decisions they made about Iraq.

Besides the fact that by selling the war on the basis that nothing could go wrong, they set themselves up to have to explain away every little thing that did go wrong, put themselves in the position of having to explain why each and every soldier or Marine's death wasn't a mistake and a sign their War wasn't going according to plan---they created Cindy Sheehan as a problem for themselves this way---besides that, they made it impossible for themselves to ask for more.

They can't ask for more troops---which won't necessarily stop them from finding them somehow---and they can't ask for more time.

But on top of all that, they also made it very difficult for Bush to suddenly start caring.  Even if he's sorrowing at the war's cost as deeply as Lincoln grieved for the dead of the Civil War, Bush cannot show it, because to show it would be to admit that the original plan failed.  Things haven't gone as they were supposed to.  Things are in fact out of control.  As I said, death wasn't part of the original equation.  To suddenly acknowledge it now would be to say, "My fellow Americans, I was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong."

It's not that Bush is personally incapable of admitting a mistake, although his whole career has been a case study in how to succeed by never acknowledging failure.  It's that Bush, who has never been truly popular, is now demonstrably unpopular, and growing more unpopular. The only people supporting him are his base and his popularity with his base has always depended on their sense that Bush is infallible.

Their faith in the man is the faith of the religious in their holy man.   Bush doesn't dare do anything that might shake that faith.

One of the lines from the Wizard of Oz that has always bothered me, bothered me even when I was a kid, was when the Wizard says, presenting the "testimonial" to the Tin Man, "Remember, my sentimental friend.  A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."

This has always sounded wrong to me.  When I was younger it didn't sound right because it seemed to suggest that a person didn't need to have a good and loving heart in order to be judged to be good and loving.  When I got older and had learned a few things about human nature and human history, it sounded just plain foolish because I knew that many people who did not deserve to be loved were not only loved by others but absolutely adored by them.

Obviously the Wizard means that the Tin Man must realize that he has to earn other people's love.  It's not enough to say I love you and then expect the person you just declared yourself to to fling themselves into your arms---it's a lesson for young lovers and children who want to make friends.

But grown-up politicians, especially charismatic politicians who succeed and lead on the basis of their personal magnetism, are judged by how much they are loved by others, and judge themselves accordingly too.

You don't have to find Bush charismatic personally to know that he is primarily a charismatic leader.  He has succeeded because he has sold voters an image, an image that doesn't have much to do with his policies and programs and actual achievements.  He can't change that image now.  Doesn't dare.

So he's stuck with a public pose of heartlessness, and he's stuck with Cindy Sheehan.

Meeting with Sheehan would go a long way with the general public, but it would not play well with his base.  Karl Rove knows that although Bush's poll numbers might improve a bit if he'd do the decent thing and just invite Sheehan in for a cold drink and a short chat, the next grieving mother who rises up to demand to know why her son or daughter had to die for a lie will drag those numbers right back down.

And Rove also knows that if the President appears to admit he's made a mistake, any sort of mistake, in Iraq, people among his base might start to wonder if their faith in the man was misplaced and if even a small percentage of the base changes their mind about him, it's all over for the Republicans.

This is why I think the President grins when he's asked about Cindy Sheehan.  He's embarrassed as all get out.   He wants to say more and he's been told he needs to say less and so he can't help but just feel foolish when her name comes up.

Unless it is the case that the "testimonial" is really only a cheap clock, and the only thing inside his chest is a beautiful echo.

(Cross-posted at The American Street.)

Comments

[Domoni]

"and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make"

If that was only true. It is more equal to the love you fake. It worked for Reagan, but Bush doesn't even bother doing that. I don't believe this president gives a damn how he is judged by the public. He acts as though he believes that history is written by the winners and he wants "his team" to win at all costs.

He will never meet with Sheehan until he knows she'd leave as Stepford Mom..."The President helped me understand why my son died. We need to stand behind him now."

[The Heretik]

Narcissus needs his Echo. Once he pulls himself away from the mirror, the most naricissistic President has plenty of people to to tell himself how great he is.

[Earl Bockenfeld]

The GOP spin machine has been down this road before, deciding that grief is a partisan affair. The loss of a loved one in even that most horrific of events, September 11, is legitimate only if the surviving family members support Bush and his policies. It's not legitimate coming from the "Jersey Girls".

The president has said that he grieves for all soldiers lost in all wars, but on Tuesday Bush expressed grief especially for those lost in the Iraq conflict. "For those who lost loved ones, it has been a year of sorrow, of empty places, of newborn children who will never know their fathers here on earth," he said. "For members of our military, it has been a year of sacrifice, and service far from home.

Now watch this drive.

[Mark]

As another blogger pointed out last week, Bush was joking about not being able to find WMD while soldiers were dying in Iraq. He actually had photos of himself looking under furniture in the White House. It was a premeditated gag.

Also, Bush never has any remose whatsoever for the thousands of Iraqis he has killed. How many people has he killed, burned and maimed without uttering one word about them? It's like they don't matter at all.

[harry near indy]

lance, bush as charismatic?

he's about as charismatic as nixon.

now kennedy, reagan and clinton -- they had charisma. bush is nothing more than kaiser bill.

and his followers are like too many of the church goers who support bush -- i believe that jesus is the messiah, therefore i am good and all that i do is good.

for these christians, to have one sin is to be evil and depraved.
they dare not back down.

this reminds me of the blind worship of bob knight i saw in indiana when he was iu's basketball coach. good riddance to him.

pity america if our hitler arrives on the scene. i hope to be dead by then.

and people wonder why i still smoke ...

[Geoduck]

It should be noted that Baum's Tin Man, in the original novel, wept when he accidently stepped on an ant, even before he got his "heart" from the Wizard. One of the major points of the novel was that all the famous foursome already had what they thought they were missing, even before they started out. The humbug wizard just supplies them with external validation. (Except Dorothy, to whom he feels obligated to offer more material assistance.) In the movie version, this point is only really made clear with the Scarecrow, who is the one who comes up with all the plans.

[mac macgillicuddy]

Harry,

As much as we may not respond to Bush's charisma, Lance has a point that he is a charismatic leader -- in the most literal sense of the word.

He governs and sells his ideas charismatically, as opposed to classically, which would involve laying out facts and showing people the benefits in a convincing way -- until they are sold. The charismatic leader relies on personal traits, smiles (or, in this case, odd gimmaces), gladhanding, and generally getting people to buy your stuff beause you are "well liked."

Willy Loman wanted so very much to be a charismatic salesman. It's hard to sell women's underwear any other way.

[Mud]

Two Points:
1. Bush came to the White House fresh from having executed some hundred and fifty Texans, more than any other governor since who knows when? Doesn't this seem very much in keeping with his displayed attitude towards the war dead, that it is indeed unfortunate that these folks had to die, but a leader has to make decisions that may have tough consequences for the "commoners."

2. In these eveangelical congreations the sheep in the pews are being constantly told by the chickenhawks in the pulpits that God has a mainline connection to George W, and that George is doing God's will. The only way these sheep could disagree would be by leaving the church, backsliding into Satans evil empire, and giving the remaining sheep even more reason to heed the messianic and charismatic words of der leader, for fear that they too might backslide all the way to hell. That, I think, makes for a very secure popularity from the quote unquote Christian base for this president. Would that he were at least Catholic or even Jewish, where there is discussion and disagreement among the believers. There is neither in these big evangelical churches, only the official believer's line. Doesn't that sound just like the White House?

[Ryan]

This raises a question in my mind. Did they know they were lying when they said it would be easy? 4 years and I still can't decide whether he is stupid or evil while pretending to be stupid.

[Exiled in NJ]

What Sheehan is doing comes direct from the meet the Wizard scene. Sheehan is the Toto who pulls back the curtain. Luckily for the Wizard in the film, the residents of the Emerald City were not there to see this act; here they are forced to see it, even if their source is some right-wing hater.