Bush and the 7 Deadly Sins ...... Juan Cole

[RedEarth]

Monday, November 07, 2005

Bush and the 7 Deadly Sins

The Washington Post reports a new poll that shows that the public's approval of Bush in the realms of trust, honesty and values has declined even in his base:




"Bush's approval ratings have been in decline for months, but on issues of personal trust, honesty and values, Bush has suffered some of his most notable declines. Moreover, Bush has always retained majority support on his handling of the U.S. campaign against terrorism -- until now, when 51 percent have registered disapproval.

The CIA leak case has apparently contributed to a withering decline in how Americans view Bush personally. The survey found that 40 percent now view him as honest and trustworthy -- a 13 percentage point drop in the past 18 months. Nearly 6 in 10 -- 58 percent -- said they have doubts about Bush's honesty, the first time in his presidency that more than half the country has questioned his personal integrity."



Bush's presidential campaign in 2000 focused on restoring "values" to Washington, but ironically, with regard to the War on Terror and the Iraq War, the Bush administration has gradually committed all of the seven deadly sins. It had even been argued that Bush himself committed all 7, whereas below I will concentrate on the administration as a whole and on the Iraq issues.

Pride. On May 2, 2003, Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit to declare the end of major combat in Iraq. From the staged character of the event (the aircraft carrier was just offshore and there was no need to fly out to it), to the famous codpiece flight suit (which was intended to exude machismo), to the banner "Mission Accomplished," the entire event was suffused with overweening pride.

http://www.juancole.com/2005/11/bush-and-7-deadly-sins-washington-post.html