Conservative Criticism of Bush Policy

George F. Will, conservative columnist, journalist, and author, has been accused in the past of ethical lapses for failing to remain neutral in his role as a journalist. One of those cases involved aiding Ronald Reagan in preparations for a debate against Jimmy Carter, and then failing to disclose his role in the preparations when appraising the results of the debate on National Television. A second instance came when he failed to disclose his wife's involvement in the Dole presidential campaign in 1996, while reporting on the race. In each case, the criticism against him was for being too attached to the Republican party to present an unbiased account, yet failing to disclose his connections when commenting.

I mention this background as a precursor for presenting his latest comments. It is one thing for a liberal member of the media to condemn Bush's Iraq war policy. It is an entirely different matter when a staunchly conservative journalist denigrates the policies of the current administration. This week, in an article in Newsweek, George Will makes the following statement:

"A surreal and ultimately disgusting facet of the Iraq fiasco is the lag between when a fact becomes obvious and when the fiasco's architects acknowledge that fact. Iraq's civil war has been raging for more than a year; so has the Washington debate about whether it is what it is."

George W. Bush mistakenly believes that admitting mistakes shows weakness, and that by showing weakness, we are more vulnerable to terrorism. I would argue that refusal to admit mistakes is a much truer sign of weakness, and ultimately makes us immensely more vulnerable. It takes a bold, confident, powerful leader to stand before the electorate and admit that previous decisions were flawed. This sort of leader wins the admiration of his followers, and the fear (and often respect) of his enemies. George W. Bush is not the bold, confident, powerful leader that he attempts to emulate, and his sub-40% national approval rating is evidence of his weaknesses as a leader. George W. Bush needs to quit pretending to be a strong leader, and start acting like one.