GEORGE MCGOVERN: An Impartial Interrogation of George W. Bush

[Veronica.Franco]

An Impartial Interrogation of George W. Bush
By George McGovern
The Nation

I'm glad to be back at the National Press Club. Indeed, at the age of eighty-four, I'm glad to be anywhere. In my younger years when the subject of aging came up, trying to sound worldly wise, I would say, "It doesn't matter so much the number of years you have, but what you do with those years." I don't say that anymore. I now want to reach a hundred. Why? Because I thoroughly enjoy life and there are so many things I must still do before entering the mystery beyond. The most urgent of these is to get American soldiers out of the Iraqi hellhole Bush-Cheney and their neoconservative theorists have created in what was once called the cradle of civilization. It is believed to be the location of the Garden of Eden. I mention the neoconservative theorists to recall Walter Lippman's observance, "There is nothing so dangerous as a belligerent professor."

One of the things I miss about my eighteen years in the US Senate are the stories of the old Southern Democrats. I didn't always vote with them, but I loved their technique of responding to an opponent's questions with a humorous story. Once when Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina had to handle a tough question from Mike Mansfield, he said, "You know, Mr. Leader, that question reminds me of the old Baptist preacher who was telling a class of Sunday school boys the creation story. 'God created Adam and Eve and from this union came two sons, Cain and Abel and thus the human race developed.' A boy in the class then asked, 'Reverend, where did Cain and Abel get their wives?' After frowning for a moment, the preacher replied, 'Young man-it's impertinent questions like that that's hurtin' religion.'"

Well, Mr. Bush, Jr. I have some impertinent questions for you.

Mr. President, Sir, when reporter Bob Woodward asked you if you had consulted with your father before ordering our army into Iraq you said, "No, he's not the father you call on a decision like this. I talked to my heavenly Father above." My question, Mr. President: If God asked you to bombard, invade and occupy Iraq for four years, why did he send an opposite message to the Pope? Did you not know that your father, George Bush, Sr., his Secretary of State James Baker and his National Security Advisor General Scowcroft were all opposed to your invasion? Wouldn't you, our troops, the American people and the Iraqis all be much better off if you had listened to your more experienced elders including your earthly father? Instead of blaming God for the awful catastrophe you have unleashed in Iraq, wouldn't it have been less self-righteous if you had fallen back on the oft-quoted explanation of wrongdoing, "The devil made me do it?"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011907B.shtml

[ShortnFiery]

1. Now there's a true American Patriot ... a humble and beautiful soul.

Using George McGovern as an example, here's some valuable advice for Democratic Presidential hopefuls from Common Dreams.org (Published on Tuesday, January 6, 2004 by the Boston Globe)* But even more valuable for 2008's Presidential Election.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0106-03.htm

"McGovern was an opponent of the "we/they" vision. A prophet of detente, he has since been vindicated by history. He offered America a way out of the trap that opposes "realist" and "idealist" perspectives. McGovern understood not only that the Vietnam War was wrong but that in the nuclear age, the realist is the one who sees that the structures of war itself must be systematically dismantled. One hears the complaint from today's Democrats that McGovern, a decorated World War II bomber pilot, did not tout his war hero's record, but that entirely misses his most important point -- that fear of war and glorification of war are simply not to be exploited for political purposes, whether at the personal level or the national. What McGovern the candidate refused to do is what American presidents should refuse to do.

George W. Bush obscenely exploits war for his own purposes. He sponsors a paranoid assessment of what threatens America now and draws political advantage from the resulting fear. The news media propagate that fear. Pundits continue the false opposition between "realist" and "idealist" visions, marginalizing anyone who dares question Garrison America. Meanwhile, the unnecessary Bush war rages, and not even the steady death toll of young GIs makes much news anymore. If a Democrat running for president dares to speak the truth about these things, it is the furthest thing from shame. And before feeling gloom about next November, ask what it means if the Democrat, to win, must do what Nixon did."

[Wetzelbill]

2. that was awesome

Great post! Definitely K&R!

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I was a streetwalker for McGovern

(campaigned for him in Madison in 1972).

God, think of what the world might have been like today if he had somehow managed to beat Richard Nixon back then. Like, maybe if Watergate had blown open really fast & cost Tricky Dick the election.

[regnaD kciN]

5. I worked for him that year, too...

...in Massachusetts (where I lived -- a.k.a. the one state he actually won in November) during the primaries, and in New Hampshire (where I was attending boarding school) during the general.

My only regret was that I was too young to actually cast a vote for the best presidential candidate of our time. I did go on to back him in the Washington state caucus in 1984, but he withdrew his candidacy literally midway through our caucus. (In a particularly galling final touch, he was selected by the search committee at my college to become the new college president in the late '80s, but the board of trustees -- packed with Republicans -- vetoed the recommendation and went instead with some controllable turkey who made a mess of things and left after a couple of years.)

You should check out "One Bright Shining Moment", a documentary about the 1972 campaign. I've often thought that this was the turning point for American politics, a time where we were offered a clear choice between light and darkness. We chose the darkness, by an overwhelming margin...and I wonder if America will ever recover from the consequences of that choice. :-(

(On a brighter note, in the months that followed, lots of Massachusetts residents started displaying an alternative form of the ubiquitous American flag decal on their cars -- this one with a single star.)

[Jackpine Radical]

7. Well, he did carry Dane County WI too. (Madison.)

[Frustratedlady]

4. Great article. Too bad The Kid doesn't read.

I was just watching the interview with Mondale and Carter on CNN. How refreshing.

[stevedeshazer]

6. All these years later, as I get old, I understand how right George McGovern is

I have a great deal of respect for this guy.