Josh Marshall: Bush's Moral Cowardice

[baltodemvet]

His moral cowardice has guided him all along

The new revelations about President Bush’s shirked Air National Guard service will continue the campaign debate about physical bravery. But with Bush, the real issue isn’t physical bravery but moral cowardice.

We have a more immediate sense of what physical bravery and cowardice are. In fact, when we speak of bravery and cowardice, the physical variety is almost always what we’re talking about. It’s whether or not you can charge an enemy position while you’re being fired at. It’s whether you’re immobilized by the fear of death.

Moral cowardice is more complex. A moral coward is someone who lacks the courage to tell the truth, to accept responsibility, to demand accountability, to do what’s right when it’s not the easy thing to do, to clean up his or her own messes. Perhaps we could say that moral bravery is having both the courage of your convictions as well as the courage of your misdeeds.

On the balance sheet of moral bravery — as opposed to physical bravery — John Kerry and George W. Bush were about as far apart as you could be on Vietnam. On the one hand, you have Kerry, who already had doubts about whether we should be fighting in Vietnam before he went but put his life on the line anyway. On the other hand, you have Bush, who supported the war, which means he believed the goal was worth the cost in American lives. Only, not his life. He believed others should go, just not him.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[jonnyblitz]

1. damn what a good first thread to read upon entering DU.

holy crap!!! :wow: SLAM :thumbsup:

[MichiganVote]

2. George Bush probably receives 100 or more threats daily or weekly

That said, he is probably a bigger target for assassination than he might have been in Nam'. Does that make him a hero? Does that make him a fool?

I think it levels his presidential field to that of any other man who has served in that office. I don't think these guys ever get used to the idea that somebody somewhere really wants them dead.

That is the dread that I perceive on George Bush's face these days.

[dogtag]

3. And he prosecuted the war on Iraq on a phony timetable

to go in ahead of the elections. He was told that overwhelming force was needed and he ignored the Generals. He knew that the soldiers were not adequately equipped and he ignored that too. He wasn't going into harms way so it didn't matter. He loves to style himself as a war president and adores the title of commander in chief. Yep, the strutting popinjay is the epitome of a moral coward. He's the Menace in Chief.

As usual, Josh Marshall has written another fine article, rife with food for thought.

[FizzFuzz]

4. I just nominated this for homepage

:thumbsup:

If you like this article, you may like the book "Bush On the Couch", which is a psychological analysis of Bush, and his character deficiencies. I read it and liked it very much (armchair psychologist that I am)

[Moderator]

5. baltodemvet--per DU copyright rules

Please limit quotes to 4 paragraphs and a link to the original source. Thank you.

[baltodemvet]

7. Ooops.

Mea Culpa.

[Bundbuster]

6. Direct link to article:

http://www.hillnews.com/marshall/090904.aspx