Sunday, January 11, 2009

See Ya, Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya
Or
Don't Let The Screen Door etc. etc.

Goodbye letters to President Bush.

[Here's a notable letter. I've said before that Bush could still do something good by admitting his error. In fact, I think he could transform American politics. If he came out and admitted some of his significant errors emphatically and in detail, it would have to wake some people up. There are still large numbers of people who refuse to admit what could not be more obvious--that Bush was a disaster. If Bush himself came out and said something like "How can you people deny that it was a mistake to invade Iraq?" I can't believe that it wouldn't have an effect. One of the biggest problems with political discussions is that, basically, no one ever has to admit that he was wrong, no matter how overwhelming the evidence. Even the most patent disasters can be brushed aside--rhetorically at least--by simply asserting that for all we know history will vindicate the decision. Despite the fact that we have all the evidence that we need that Bush was a disaster, and despite the fact that his own admission of failure would be evidentially superfluous, it would be psychologically and rhetorically powerful--and that's what's needed. The people who decide on the basis of evidence and reasoning already know Bush was a disaster. What he could do now is to deliver a kind of psychological jolt to those who have locked themselves up in fortresses of denial.]

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