If you could describe Bush as policymaker in one word, what would it be? There are certainly lots of possible adjectives, but I think I would go with “stubborn”.
William Saletan writes about this tragic trait in the context of Bush’s stem-cell policy. This characteristic may help explain why Bush undermined the NIE, which I linked to recently in an aside (more on that from Slate.com here).
Now, I know a little bit about stubbornness because I can be a pretty pig-headed person, but when you are the President of the United States and/or making decisions that affect the lives of others, you need to hold yourself to a higher standard, to be more objective.
Unfortunately, objectivity is not something that I see a lot in politicians. Most politicians do not take it to the level that Bush does, but for them it also manifests itself in a fundamentally different manner. Bush sticks to his guns no matter the evidence at hand or what other people say, and he does so seemingly without caring about the political consequences for himself. Usually (or stereotypically), the opposite is true: politicians say and do whatever is most popular with the people or special interest groups.
On the surface, this is good, I guess. As elected officials, they should represent the people who elected them. But too often it takes the form of politicians making a “safe” political decision, rather than what may be a “better” decision, or serving the interests of a particular group or segment of society.
But even if they are doing what the majority of the public think is right, who says the public know what is best? I’m not saying the President should do whatever he/she wants based on a gut feeling (ahem, Bush), but they should rely on the opinions of experts, such as experts in the scientific community when it comes to stem-cell research.
All of this probably goes without saying, but the reason I bring it up is because it is something that weighs heavily in my mind when considering who to vote for in the upcoming election.
One of the main reasons I like Barack Obama is that I believe he is the type of thoughtful, intelligent person who will make decisions based on the evidence and advice of experts (when such advice is needed). I believe he is capable of navigating those issues without using an “us vs. them” mentality and will thus be more successful at bringing people to a consensus.
That’s right: I just got all political up in here.
Been listening to this one a lot, pretty much the whole way through.
This novel was published after the Chilean-Mexican author's death, and I'm not even sure if it was entirely finished or not. It is broken up into five parts which, while connected, stand pretty much on there own. I have not yet made it to the grim part about the murders of hundreds of women in Mexico, so I have so far found it enjoyable and even funny despite some dark underpinnings. It's had a ton of critical praise, and I like it much more than my last foray into the violent novel genre: Blood Meridian.
