Pitch for global democracy forgets about Iraq war (Novak) [View All]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-novak21.html


Pitch for global democracy forgets about Iraq war

January 21, 2005

BY ROBERT NOVAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

After a bitterly contested election and an impressive victory, supporters of George W. Bush came to Washington wanting to be inspired and motivated. Some, perhaps a majority of Bush backers, were. But others, probably a substantial minority, were not.

The problem was that President Bush's second inaugural address was not really crafted as a political speech. According to one of the president's advisers, the address is intended to stand through the ages as Bush's imprint in history -- as Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address has done. That is the reason the Bush speech did not even please all members of his own political base.

The 21-minute speech, suitably brief for an inaugural address, could have been cut down to five minutes for all Bush had to say. He declared his intent to promote democracy all over the world and added that was the purpose of U.S. foreign policy. If that message was not understood the first time, the president made sure of its reception by constant repetition.<snip>

The speech can best be described by listing what it did not say. As expected, the president did not get involved in the nuts and bolts of domestic policy. He did not mention "Social Security" or "tax reform" or "tort reform." Social issues, notably same-sex marriage, were similarly ignored. Thus, domestic policy was taken care of in one catchall section.

Although the speech clearly was attuned to the nation's response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there was no mention of "terrorism" or "the war on terror." Neither "Iraq" nor "Afghanistan" was mentioned.<snip>

In the final analysis, it was determined by Bush not to attempt conciliation. The main message carried away from his second inaugural address would be that he is a muscular, global salesman of democracy. It remains to be seen whether the American people think that is in their best interests.