Since Dubya's smirking grin first popped onto the national scene, various pundits-cum-psychologists have suggested that the prodigal son overreaches to compensate for a lousy relationship with Poppy. Indeed, Kitty Kelley's book, The Family spends many pages analyzing the relationship between Junior and his parental units, Poppy and Beautiful Mind.
So it's kind of interesting that in the past few weeks, a couple of Poppy's closest advisors (Brent Scowcroft, and now James Baker) are telling Junior it's time to get the hell out of Iraq.
What Scowcroft and Baker's words imply is that perhaps Poppy didn't think it was a real good idea to go into Iraq to begin with. But he's (in Bush family tradition) kept his mouth shut. Wouldn't want to sacrifice Jeb's chances to continue the dynasty in '08, right?
It would appear that Poppy is sending out his surrogates to challenge Dubya's policies, and that the policy rift between 41 and 43 seems to be widening:
"Any appearance of a permanent occupation will both undermine domestic support here in the United States and play directly into the hands of those in the Middle East who -- however wrongly -- suspect us of imperial design," Baker said Tuesday in a speech at Rice University in Houston. News reports of his comments were disseminated on national news wires on Thursday.
Don't forget, James Baker was the architect of the coup in Florida in 2000. So, it stands to reason that Baker's cautionary words carry even a bit more weight behind the scenes.
What Dubya most lacks as a true leader is that he continues to quarter no dissent in his administration. There's been a couple of stories over the past week or so about him basically shutting out anyone who doesn't bring him good news. Billmon at Whiskey Bar (who appears to be back , at least temporarily) points us to a chasm as wide as the Grand Canyon between Dubya and Colin Powell:
Mr Powell's bleak assessment, less than three weeks before Iraqis are due to elect a parliament, reflects what advisers close to the administration and former officials describe as an understanding in the State Department and Pentagon of the depth of the crisis. But, they say, this is not a view accepted by President George W. Bush . . .
According to Chas Freeman, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia and head of the independent Middle East Policy Council, Mr Bush recently asked Mr Powell for his view on the progress of the war. “We're losing,” Mr Powell was quoted as saying. Mr Freeman said Mr Bush then asked the secretary of state to leave.
Powell was selected to be part of the Dubya's original cabinet for one reason - Poppy pressure. It's hard to imagine that Powell, who is/was really tight with Poppy, would have been part of Dubya's cabinet were it not for pressure from Poppy's inner circle.
Are we starting to see the evolution of hopeful signs of GOP backbiting, and a widening disagreement between the true conservatives in the party (with whom we can have reasoned discourse) and the fundieneoconimperialists (who simply won't listen)? If so, this is a good thing. There's no question that Poppy still has friends in very high levels of congress and the bureaucratic halls government. And if we start to see a family feud start in the Bush clan, my bet is that George H.W. Bush wins.
Perhaps Poppy sees the U.S. poised at the edge of an abyss. It's quite surreal to think that he may be the best chance America has for pulling back from the edge - that is, if we're not already over it.
