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Arab News Editorial THE obituaries for the
wretched two-term presidency of George W. Bush will flow thickly in two
months’ time when he finally quits the Oval Office in favor of the victor of today’s
presidential election. But for now, as has been noted, the 43rd occupant of
the White House is forgotten but not gone. The McCain Republican campaign has
gone out of its way to dissociate itself from the incumbent, even to the
extent that McCain himself intoned to a Republican rally, “I am not George
Bush” and got cheers for his effort. Nor was the McCain camp in
the least bit happy when Vice President Dick Cheney, the leading architect of
the disastrous Bush neocon agenda, announced his endorsement of their man.
Wracked by economic ills, humiliated by a failed gun-slinging foreign policy
and embarrassed by an inept, tongue-tied and unrepentant president, most
Americans want to see an end to the Bush administration blundering. However
they vote today, this is their chance to escape one of the most unedifying
two-term incumbencies in their country’s history. There are those who fear the
interregnum between now and Jan. 20 when Bush loses power. Under the 20th
Amendment of 1933, the transition period between administrations has been
cut. This arose from what historians have described as one of the most
dangerous periods in modern US history when the outgoing Republican President
Herbert Hoover was due to hand over to Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. Then as
now the US economy was in deep trouble and then as now, the retiring
president was insisting that America’s finances were fundamentally sound.
Like Bush, Hoover was deeply lacking in charisma and both men are seen as
among the worst US presidents. On foreign policy, however, Hoover, was no
hawk and indeed under the Hoover Plan sought to reduce the world’s naval
power by a third and impose an arms embargo on Latin America. There is not
much more that Bush can do on the US economy. He has committed his successor
and the US taxpayer to trillions of dollars of financial institution
bailouts. On foreign policy, however, there is still room for further
mischief. As this newspaper noted last week, even a dying scorpion can still
sting. Much relies on the presidential
transitional teams that both of today’s hopefuls have already put in place.
The incoming team is supposed to work with the outgoing administration to
ensure a smooth handover of power. This normally includes consultation on any
issues that are going to affect the new president. Given George W. Bush’s
consistent failure to consult wiser heads than his own belligerent neocon
coterie, there must be concerns that he will not fully honor this
constitutional arrangement, most especially if his successor is Barack Obama.
The temptation for one last throw of the foreign policy dice, perhaps over
Iran, may be too great. While constitutional lawyers ought to be dusting off
their law books, senior US commanders and career diplomats should perhaps
also be steeling themselves to frustrate or even disobey an insane order from
the White House. Until the Bush presidency is dead and buried we are all in
danger from one last woeful misjudgment. |