 |
||||||||
 |
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
 |
Bush able to straddle ideology, reality
© St. Petersburg Times, WASHINGTON -- For a president who talks often about the need for humility in politics, George W. Bush has an unusually high-handed way of negotiating with Congress and foreign leaders. On a personal level, of course, Bush is anything but arrogant. In meetings with his adversaries, his long Texas drawl and his fractured syntax create a relaxed mood. Sometimes, Bush can even go overboard with the folksy friendship, as he did when he proclaimed Russian President Vladimir Putin a nice guy. But when it comes to dealing with his adversaries on substantial policy matters, Bush adopts an imperious approach that would be more offensive were he not trying so hard to be accommodating on a personal level. Instead of fully discussing the pros and cons of issues, Bush always demands that his adversary yield to the president's "principles." And whenever Bush outlines his principles, he adopts the attitude of Moses presenting the stone tablets etched with the Ten Commandments that he received from God. This approach to problem-solving is unusual for a U.S. president. Most of Bush's predecessors have preferred to use the office as a bully pulpit to convince the world that their approach is better. Even President Reagan, who was often accused of being aloof, did not hesitate to grapple with the most difficult elements of an issue on which he took a controversial stand. Reagan relished this type of debate. For Bush, his approach has some obvious advantages. It puts him in charge. It saves him from having to become familiar with the complex details of an issue. And most important, it permits him to straddle conflicts between his ideology and political reality. Take his stand on the Kyoto treaty on global warming. Bush should get credit for saying outright that the United States does not intend to adhere to the treaty. Most politicians who claim to support the treaty are giving it lip service. Almost everyone in Washington realizes it does not, and probably never will, have sufficient support in Congress. At the same time, it is equally disingenuous for Bush to say he supports the goals of the Kyoto accords while insisting the solution to global warning must fit his principles. His principles are often in conflict with efforts to stem the production of greenhouse gases. It remains to be seen how U.S. allies will deal with Bush on the many international treaties that conflict with his principles. But there is no question that Bush's tactic of laying down principles that defy reality is beginning to wear on members of Congress.That is what happened last week when Democratic Sens. Bob Graham of Florida, Max Baucus of Montana and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia lost their temper with the president on the issue of providing prescription drug benefits for seniors. The senators, who have been working tirelessly with many of their Republican colleagues to forge a compromise to provide Medicare drug benefits, complained that the so-called principles presented to them at a meeting with White House aide Mark McClellan were not only vague, but also in conflict with budget figures that Bush approved. Bush has a history of avoiding the complexities of the prescription drug issue. During his campaign, he proposed a modest plan that would help low-income seniors. He knew darn well that his proposal would never fly in Congress. Shortly after he entered the White House, Bush sent his low-income plan, known as Immediate Helping Hands, to Congress. At the same time, Bush and his aides admitted he did not expect it to be enacted. This rendered the proposal politically meaningless. Now come Bush's four principles for a Medicare reform and a drug benefit, which he outlined during a speech in the Rose Garden on July 12. I have read those four points over and over, and I have no idea what he was talking about. They are vague and off point. When McClellan sought to clarify these points in a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee, the members quickly realized that Bush's principles could not be satisfied within the $318-billion he has set aside in his 10-year budget forecast. The message from Bush to the members of Congress working on the issue was clear: The president remains aloof when it comes to resolving the conflicts between his ideology and his budget. And if the committee cannot do the impossible, Bush will likely accuse the members of promoting gridlock. - Sara Fritz can be reached by e-mail at fritz@sptimes.com and by telephone at (202) 463-0576.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
Times columns today Howard Troxler Jan Glidewell Sara Fritz |
