The Faith-based Presidency

A speaker on NPR today (I wish I could remember his name) called Bush’s administration “the faith-based presidency.” He went on to explain that Bush’s presidency is based not only on faith in God, but also faith in himself, and his supporters are people who have faith in George W. Bush as a leader. I don't share the same faith, but I'd like to understand it. In the face of damning evidence, people truly believe Bush made us safer from terrorists, was right to invade Iraq, improved the economy, and is protecting our families from damaging "gay marriage."

Like most people I know, I’m deeply disappointed about the outcome of the election. And I’m troubled about the future of this country. Bush will be changing the composition of the Supreme Court, meaning that gay marriage, abortion rights, medical marijuana, the right to die, the right to privacy, prayer in schools, and a host of other issues will be decided by an almost certainly more conservative court. We are threatened by terrorism, but little has been done to increase security for airlines, chemical factories, nuclear power plants, or container ships. Saddam Hussein, rather than being a threat, assumed we knew which weapons he had and didn’t have, and was performing a rather obvious geopolitical balancing act between Iran, the U.S., and the U.N in order to remain a power in the region. Which makes the U.S. an aggressor nation for the first time in our history, and gave al-Queda both a recruitment tool and room to maneuver in heart of the Middle East. As far as I can tell, all of this should have been plenty to re-defeat him and send him back to Crawford. So why did so many people vote for him?

I keep coming back to faith. Bush's supporters, in spite of all logic, need to believe in the man. And not just have faith in him, but complete faith that he is unquestioningly right. He has the same faith in himself. I feel juvenile pointing out that no one is perfect; that no one has a more difficult or complicated job than the president; and that he is bound to make mistakes. If Bush or his supporters pretend he never makes mistakes, that he never need compromise, then he is put in the dangerous position of either admitting a mistake or covering it up. Iraq is a perfect example, I think the tax cuts (without corresponding budget cuts) are another. I hope Bush and his supporters are right, and that he's infallible, because if he's not we're in for a damaging, and perhaps disastrous 4 years.