Bush's March Madness

The best thing about March Madness is the unpredictability. Although it never fails to ruin my bracket picks, I have to admit that I enjoy the occasional upset. Pro basketball may be of a better quality, but in the one-and-done world of the NCAA Tournament, heart and luck can give anyone a chance.

Politics (and by extension, war) is quite different from both versions of basketball, but you would never know from hearing the President on the anniversary of the Iraq War. To him it's still a game, and it's a game in which the outcome has already been determined (even if he has no clue how things are going in the now).


For a glimpse into Bush's psyche, I'll refer to one of my favorite WashPost columnists, Eugene Robinson:

In his brief address yesterday, George W. Bush said that "the fight is difficult, but it can be won." Dwell on that for a moment. The "mission accomplished" president, once so full of certainty and swagger, isn't telling Americans that victory is proximate or even inevitable, just that it is still possible.

When I heard those words, I thought that either the president had decided "can be won" is now the outer limit of public credulity, or -- foolish me -- that maybe he had finally begun to see Iraq as it is, not as he would like it to be. But then he reverted to form, raising the specter of the Sept. 11 attacks, and the speech sounded like just another attempt at spin control rather than the product of any sort of presidential
epiphany.

Sigh. The White House remains an epiphany-free zone.

It's becoming harder and harder for even the most ardent Iraq War supporters to find a silver lining is this mess. Quite honestly, I think 9/11 is all Bush has left. Iraq has gone from "slam dunk" to "can be won." So, even though it contradicts everything that he's said about 9/11 and Iraq (he eventually came around and said there's no real connection, but it's been convoluted because members of his own administration continue to say the opposite) he's going to link the two events (9/11 and the Iraq War) because he needs the emotional capital from 9/11 to keep support for being in Iraq from completely tanking. It's like a "Cinderella" college basketball team who makes it to the Sweet Sixteen only to get trounced by their next opponent in the first half; the coach has to channel all of the emotions the players had in the previous games to counter the despair they're probably feeling.

Bush's strategy is to ask for a quick timeout and then send in worn-out players Problem is, he may not have any timeouts left.

The president says all he wants is a little forbearance while his so-called "surge" plan is given time to work. But most Americans have long since run out of patience. Those who haven't -- who believe a decent outcome might still be salvaged in Iraq -- might want to consider not only how daunting the task is but also the record of the administration that's trying to get that task done.

George W. Bush and his aides cited dead-wrong intelligence to convince the American people of the need to go to war. They botched the invasion of Iraq by creating a power vacuum that insurgents were happy to fill. They sent only a fraction of the number of troops needed to occupy the country, scoffing at professional soldiers who told them of their error in advance. They paid lip service to reconstruction, putting it in the hands of conservative ideologues who were more interested in setting up a laboratory for their pet ideas than getting the lights on.

So to continue the college sports metaphor, he's gotten favorable calls from the refs, multiple time outs, pretty much all the prospect players he's wanted, and a blank check to conduct his affairs. And still the program's a mess. Still, he wants more time to win the big game.

Except, in sports, a coach (or athletic director) like that would have been gone a long time ago.