by Sidney Blumenthal

Guardian [UK]

02/10/05

Fear made George Bush's presidency, gave him his 'mission,' and allowed him to remain in office. Before September 11, he had drifted to the lowest approval rating ever for a president after just eight months on the job. Throughout the 2004 campaign, Republicans hammered 'September 11,' 'terrorism' and 'Saddam Hussein' like an anvil chorus.

Bush got his victory; it was the smallest win of any second-term president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916, but he acts as if it is the moment of deliverance Republicans have been waiting for since Herbert Hoover lost the White House. Fear fostered Bush's 'political capital,' so he sees no reason why it should fail him now. ... Since September 11, without variation, Bush's poll numbers have paralleled the quantity of news stories about terrorism. ... The war on terrorism is his meta-narrative. But what happens when the ground shifts?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1409556,00.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp