This is an incredible piece on why the Bush Administration has become such a dissaster...

Excerpt:

Bush is following the classic mistaken pattern of active/negative presidents: As Barber explained, they issue order after order, without public support, until they eventually dissipate the real powers they have -- until "nothing [is] left but the shell of the office." Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon all followed this pattern.

Active/negative presidents are risk-takers. (Consider the colossal risk Bush took with the Iraq invasion). And once they have taken a position, they lock on to failed courses of action and insist on rigidly holding steady, even when new facts indicate that flexibility is required.

The source of their rigidity is that they've become emotionally attached to their own positions; to change them, in their minds, would be to change their personal identity, their very essence. That, they are not willing to do at any cost.

Wilson rode his unpopular League of Nations proposal to his ruin; Hoover refused to let the federal government intervene to prevent or lessen a fiscal depression; Johnson escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam while misleading Americans (thereby making himself unelectable); and Nixon went down with his bogus defense of Watergate.

George Bush has misled America into a preemptive war in Iraq; he is using terrorism to claim that as Commander-in-Chief, he is above the law; and he refuses to acknowledge that American law prohibits torturing our enemies and warrantlessly wiretapping Americans.

Americans, increasingly, are not buying his justifications for any of these positions. Yet Bush has made no effort to persuade them that his actions are sound, prudent or productive; rather, he takes offense when anyone questions his unilateral powers. He responds as if personally insulted.

And this may be his only option: With Bush's limited rhetorical skills, it would be all but impossible for him to persuade any others than his most loyal supporters of his positions. His single salient virtue - as a campaigner - was the ability to stay on-message. He effectively (though inaccurately) portrayed both Al Gore and John Kerry as wafflers, whereas he found consistency in (over)simplifying the issues. But now, he cannot absorb the fact that his message is not one Americans want to hear - that he is being questioned, severely, and that staying on-message will be his downfall.

Other Presidents - other leaders, generally - have been able to listen to critics relatively impassively, believing that there is nothing personal about a debate about how best to achieve shared goals. Some have even turned detractors into supporters - something it's virtually impossible to imagine Bush doing. But not active/negative presidents. And not likely Bush.

One of the things that is interesting about this analysis is something I have believed all along. Bush has surrounded himself with enablers, isolated himself from public opinion and perception (case in point, his bogus personal appearances, where audiences are cherry picked). He has been further enabled by Appologist official and unofficial (Bloggers), who have bent over backwards to spin, deny and even lie on his behalf. Bush is the personification of the spoiled brat, who's behavior is excused by coddling parents and siblings...

Some folks smell blood in the water. The administration is reeling under the pressure of failed policy and a public that has just grown tired of rhetoric. I don't believe there will be many more changes before his term ends. I don't see him being impeached, nor do I see Cheney going anywhere. There is an outside chance that Rove will go down, as Libby seems reluctant to take the fall alone.

I see a crushing defeat for Republicans in November. Even if, as suspected, Bush orchestrates an attack on Iran before then. It will be interesting to see what happens with Democrats in Control. There is no doubt, that if the Democratic Majority is big enough... Some light will be shed on dark places... All very interesting stuff indeed.

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