It is not news that in leaving office, President Bush will leave behind, for many, a certain impression: that he is not, really, a man of reflection—and that as President he seemed to govern, frequently, from the gut, from instinct.
Perhaps out of a desire to counter such an impression, Mr. Bush has, on a number of occasions,
declared that he has spent much time in thought.
For years, he has used a certain phrase—one he repeated in his press conference last Monday (January 12th).
During the press conference, he said, of Hurricane Katrina:
“I’ve thought long and hard about Katrina—you know, could I have done something differently, like land Air Force One either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.” He said: “The problem with that…is that law enforcement would have been pulled away from the mission…”
It is the initial part of that answer—the phrase “I’ve thought long and hard”—that has for some time been a part of the Bush lexicon.
During an October, 2000 debate with Vice President Al Gore, then-Governor Bush noted that he had “thought long and hard about the honor of being the President of the United States.“
In a March of 2003 press conference, before the start of the Iraq war, Mr. Bush said: “And so I—you know, obviously, I’ve thought long and hard about the use of troops. I think about it all the time…”
From an April, 2005 press conference:
Q: Sir, you’ve talked all around the country about the poisonous partisan atmosphere here in
Washington. I wonder why do you think that is? And do you personally bear any responsibility in having contributed to this atmosphere?
Bush: I’m sure there are some people that don’t like me. You know, Ed, I don’t know. I’ve thought long and hard about it. I was—I’ve been disappointed…
In the summer of 2005, Bush said, of anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan: “I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position, and she has every right in the world to say what she believes…and I’ve thought long and hard about her position.”
In January of 2007, interviewed by Jim Lehrer of PBS, Mr. Bush spoke of sending additional troops to Iraq. He said: “And I thought long and hard about the decision, Jim…”
I will give Mr. Bush this: on certain issues, his judgments have had merit. I do not know, for
example, whether he has in fact “thought long and hard” about Hamas—yet his defense of Israel’s right to defend itself, against Hamas’s missile attacks, has been sound. Similarly, over time, he has evinced an essential understanding of the danger that radical Islamists present to the United States (and the world entire).
Yet one asks: has Mr. Bush, as he has repeatedly asserted, “thought long and hard” about issues and decisions? Or has this been an essential part of his failure as President: that far too often (e.g., Katrina, the economy, undertaking/planning the war in Iraq), there has simply not been the long and hard thinking one would have expected?
