Thursday, April 25, 2013

TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T CALL THE BUSH LIBRARY'S 9/11 DISPLAYS "CELEBRATORY"
(updated)


Look, I haven't actually seen how the new George W. Bush presidential library handles 9/11 and its aftermath -- but when I read Politico's description, the only conclusion I can come to is that Bush (who's said to have personally approved all the displays) is celebrating what happened and his own role in it:
George W. Bush was a wartime president, and his new museum won't let you forget it.

High ceilings mean visitors can hear the wail of sirens on Sept. 11 across adjoining rooms, as Bush bellows resolutely: "Today our nation saw evil." ...

... A sign next to [a] mangled [beam from the World Trade Center] blares: "...and then there came A DAY OF FIRE." A wall lists all who perished.

"He was thrust into a new and unexpected role: War President," reads the display.

Iraq and Afghanistan are not their own sections. Instead, they are conflated with the so-called "Global War On Terror" in a room called "Defending Freedom." ...
Well, this is pretty much what you'd expect from a guy who put a picture of himself not-at-all-solemnly speaking through a bullhorn at Ground Zero on pages ii and iii of his presidential memoir, so it's literally the first thing you come to when you open the book, even before the title.




There are other pictures of this moment, but Bush, for his book, chose one of himself in which he doesn't look the least bit solemn or mournful, even though he was standing on a mass grave. Bush looks cocky in this picture. It's all about him. And, of course, he was making an empty promise that day, implying that he'd get the guys responsible, which he failed to do, and never really cared to do once he became mesmerized by the shiny object of Iraq.

But right-wingers, at least during Bush heyday, always acted as if 9/11 was the greatest day of their lives. It made them and their president the moral arbiters of America. It made it impossible to challenge their political dominance. That's all they cared about. Bush clearly looks back on that moment of unchallenged power with nostalgia. He misses it.

The right is responding to the Boston bombings pretty much the same way. In a way, it's even worse -- if you went to right-wing sites after 9/11, you were at least likely to find memorial shrines to the dead with solemn patriotic music and illustrations of eagles shedding tears. With Boston, they're going straight the liberal-bashing, Muslim-baiting, and Democrat-hunting. Never mind the absurdity of the notion that 9/11 was somehow a triumph for their guy but Boston was a horrible failure for the current administration. What's also clear is the self-righteous joy with which they're waving real and invented evidence of intelligence lapses, cover-ups, and Muslim group guilt. They're doing an end zone dance without even a pro forma pause to remember the dead and wounded.

*****

UPDATE:

There's nothing I can add to that.

7 comments:

Victor said...

Steve,
You really can't blame our Conservatives.

This, THIS, is the terrorist-attack moment they have been praying on their knees for, ever since that KenyanSocialistFascistCommunistHeathenMuslimAtheist defeated John McAmericasSh*ttiestFighterPilot and Sister Sarah Simpleton, the Sinister Saint of Sitka.

They have only one regret:
The scope of the terrorist attack didn't include body counts in the thousands, with countries to invade and occupy, and people to rendition and torture.

As compensation, they want this guy treated like an enemy combatant, and tortured nigh unto death.
And death is fine too, if not preferrable - because then they can blame Obama for toruring him to that point.

Oh, if we only had another series of horrific attacks, like on 9/11, now that, THAT, would have made these current celebrations by our righties over the Boston Marathon bombings, look like a poor child's birthday party compared to the wildest Mardi Gras on record.

Our Reich-wing is now comprised of rage-and-fear-junkies, and their default position is, "Clinically, Sociopathically, Insane."

And yeah, Bush relishes those moments when he was the most important and powerful man in the world.

Up until 9/11, W and his boss, Dick Cheney, had looked completely inept as the economy was going downhill, and they looked like rank amateurs when China captured our AWACS plane (anyone remember that?).

Ah, but after that fateful day, the lead-up to the Iraq War, and the quick defeat of Saddam's forces, those, THOSE, were their crowning moments of glory!!!

Young Churchill had defeated the Middle East's Hitler!!!!!

And yes, 9/11 was a moment of national tragedy, brought about by the Bush Mis-Administrations incompetence, laziness, stupidity, ignorance, and hubris, among other factors - but it was a moment, THE moment, that could be politically exploited, if you and your team were adept and cynical enough.

And THAT is why he cherishes those moments - they were HIS political V-DD Day (Victory Over Democrats and Democracy Day).

And that is why, as stupid as it seems to us to publically open the George W. Bush "Libary" on May 1st, in his mind, it's not.

His two crowning achievements, were the bullhorn moment a few days after 9/11, when he cynically began to manipulate the people and the political process - and the day of his landing in that plane on an Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, when he preened a strutted his hour upon the stage, in his manly overstuffed codpiece, and declare to the world, "Mission Accomplished!"

"Ah," thinks W, "Memories, memories... Now those, THOSE, were the Good Old Days!"

Ten Bears said...

If by "cocky" you mean "looks like one of The Village People" I'm totally down with it.

No fear.

Philo Vaihinger said...

Well, presidential libraries are privately funded, constructed, and controlled temples of bullshit, anyway.

Joanne Miller said...

The CBS morning interview with Laura Bush made me sick: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505267_162-57581337/former-first-lady-laura-bush-shares-tour-of-new-bush-center/

The fact that they have the so-called beam from the 82nd floor - which she says "was the actual site of the impact" and this wasn't destroyed. And they have a wall of video screens for every moment throughout the morning ... along with everyone's names, those who died. Philo is right that there is no tax payer money put to this self-indulgent 8 yr segment in out history.
It is all so scripted. I hope Philo above is correct.

Greg said...

Dubya as the Devil in Damn Yankees, looking back on the good old days of 2001-03. Someone could rewrite the lyrics. I guess we could also include his triumphant "mandate" of 2004. (Thanks again, Ken Blackwell.)

What's scary, though, is that a good bit of the populace -- not just the 27% dead-enders -- seem to truly like that Mr. Bullhorn cartoon, and remember it fondly. And if they don't like Mr. Shock and Awe quite as much, at least they respect him for his chutzpah, in trying to deal with a problem they believe can't be solved by diplomacy alone.

Jonny G said...

Flight jacket!!?! Wow.

Does it at least say Texas Air National Guard on it? with his dates of "service"?

Anonymous said...

When I first heard about a beam from one of the towers being on display I thought it was a joke. But no. It's actually there. It's so wrong for so many reasons - it almost makes me nauseous.