Before September 11, 2001, George Bush Jr. was not a man with much credibility. Campaigning for president in 2000, he was notable mostly for being George Bush’s son, being extraordinarily vague, and raising a record $100 million from political donors. His double talk during the campaign was so weak and unconvincing that I often wondered how he could be the front runner for the Republican nomination. Didn’t Republicans want a man with integrity? Someone willing to commit to something concrete? Someone who knew what he was talking about?
As it turns out, the reason he was so wishy-washy was that straightforward honesty about his intentions would have cost him the nomination. After a humiliating victory in the presidential election, he transformed into a bold man of action. Immediate tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent. Abrupt withdrawal from the Kyoto Treaty. Seemingly anything and everything for big business, especially Exxon-Mobil, who practically dictate his energy policy.
Not that he didn’t try to gloss everything over–his double talk remained just as smooth. But in spite of that, it’s hard to believe the public didn’t sense what really was going on back in early 2001.
And then one day terrorists attacked New York City and Washington. Like many others, I felt we were in deep trouble having a president like him at a time like this. At such a moment of international crisis, I didn’t want a man like George Bush representing America. Most people at the time didn’t doubt that what he truly represented was big business and its interests, including international interests. How could such a man be trusted to defend us and speak for us–that is, those of us who are not millionaires with financial interests in countries like Saudi Arabia?
I heard his voice on the radio that morning, vowing bloody vengeance. I wondered how America’s leader could say such words before our mourning could even have a chance to begin. Before we were even out of shock. Our people were still suffering and dying, and George Bush Jr. spoke of more killing.
I still wonder now, was anyone else in America thinking about killing more people at that moment?
In the national chaos of the next few months, it’s understandable that most of us didn’t know what to think. But rather than clarify our situation, Bush and his administration used our confusion as a political tool. Given immense power at a time of national emergency, he transmitted a series of insistent messages to us about our enemy: bin Laden. Afghanistan. The Taliban.
Who questioned the president? Who would dare to? At a time in history when our emotions ran high, Bush successfully channeled them into hatred–hatred for our enemy and love for our country. But the trouble was that despite Bush’s finger-pointing, we weren’t really sure who our enemy was. The paranoia got so bad that many seemed worried that anyone without an American flag on their automobile antenna could be the enemy. And of course, anyone who didn’t stand behind Our President of the United States (the guy on our TV screens who stands in front of the flag) is the enemy. You’re either with him or against him.
What a terrific turnaround for a man who so many had doubted before the attacks. And what must gratify Bush the most is that he didn’t have to turn his agenda around at all to gain all this extra support. In fact, the attacks became an excuse for him to pursue his foreign agenda much more aggressively. What once had to be accomplished through more subtle means could now be done with brute force, with the support of the American people.
September 11 changed everything, he says. We live in a different world, he says. Rational thinking apparently doesn’t apply in this world. In this world, we just take his word for it.
Brian O’Keefe can be reached at [email protected]