Re: Rumsfeld visits NOLA

On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 02:21:50 GMT, Donna deMedicis
<donnaspammenotdemedicis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Josh Hill wrote:

>Y'all liberals seem to be such a sucker for form over substance. If
>Rummy had knelt, perhaps wiping away a tear, and hugged them . . would
>you really want him for Secretary of *Defense*?
>
>If Condi had shopped for really expensive shoes online, or by catalogue,
>that would have been ever so much better? Better still, if she'd had
>shown solidarity with all poor, black shoeless people by wearing Keds.
>No. Generic WalMart Keds. With stained socks.
>
>Y'all put way too much emphasis on public displays. I don't give a damn
>if Rumsfield walked by them without a glance. Just make it better.

Well, you know, I think there's always a certain amount of political
sentimentality-mongering and grandstanding -- look how mean/good he is
to children and puppies, that sort of thing -- so I tend to view these
episodes with a jaundiced eye.

That being said, I have two criticisms here. One is a matter of
sensitivity, of good leadership. People /want/ to think that their
leaders are concerned and on the job at a moment of crisis. It just
isn't good for morale for a cabinet member to go shoe shopping when
people are dying. Most politicians understand that in their bones, but
the members of the Bush Administration -- taking, I suspect, their cue
from their leader -- do not.

The other criticism I have is that I do think we're seeing genuine
callousness, genuine lack of concern here. Would you, barring some
kind of urgent necessity, have done as Rumsfeld did? Would you have
had no interest in their suffering, shown no signs of empathy?

If this had been an isolated incident, I might have shrugged it off as
having been due to one of any number of possible factors. But Rumsfeld
has displayed similar behavior on a number of occasions, most notably
with the signature machine incident and his armor comment. And his
behavior seems to be characteristic of an Administration and President
that have consistently come across as aloof, callous, tone deaf and
out of touch.

And I think that does matter. Caring may not be useful in and of
itself, but concern leads to action, and action saves lives.

--
Josh

"This is a devastating storm. This is a storm that's
going to require immediate action now." -George W. Bush,
four days after Hurricane Katrina
.

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