Predictable Consequences

By Fester:

My wife and I are expecting our first child at some point near Christmas and one of things that I look forward to with some trepidation is teaching our little egoist about cause and effect and an action based intepretation of intent.  Just wanting to be nice to someone does not matter if you steal their toys; they will (rightly) think you are mean and can not share.  But that is a couple of years off.

But I was thinking about this analogy when I saw the London Times lede about President Bush's concern for his historical legacy:

President Bush has admitted to The Times that his gun-slinging rhetoric made the world believe that he was a “guy really anxious for war” in Iraq. He said that his aim now was to leave his successor a legacy of international diplomacy for tackling Iran.

In an exclusive interview, he expressed regret at the bitter divisions over the war and said that he was troubled about how his country had been misunderstood. “I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric.”

Maybe he should have thought about the probable consequences to his reputation before engaging in a war of choice built on lies, deception and bullshit... 

Maybe he should have thought about the probable consequences about playing to the Id of his base...

Maybe he should have thought about the probable consequences when he based his entire re-election campaign on being willing to saber rattle.....

Tough shit --- you earned this reputation and I hope it headlines your obituary some day. 

Comments

[1MaNLan]

Most children develop a healthy sense of morality when raised in emotionally healthy conditions...See Kohlberg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development.

Of course, some children don't develop normally, even with the best of training and environment. These unfortunate (for eveyone else) people sometimes grow up to become President.

Even now, Bush is not saying "Sorry". He is saying that he regrets his rhetoric, not his decisions or the carnage flowing from his decisions. He is saying that he is upset about how HIS nation...which is merely an extension of his own ego... is perceived. He implies that it is merely the perception of others that is not accurate. Therefore, he could have phrased things a little differently, so as not to be "misunderstood" by noncomprehending masses. This is no apology at all. This is the minmizing rhetoric of a perp after getting caught.

[empty]

Enjoy your child - don't try to teach. S/he will learn from example.

[Mark]

Hey- give him some credit. I think this qualifies as the first time in his Presidency that he's actually admitted to doing something wrong. Of course, the admittance only had to do with the rhetoric he used rather than the bad decision to go to war in the first place, but, hey, baby steps....

[BJ Bjornson]

On the child, congratulations! Don't worry too much about taking the toys away when you have to, they have pretty short memories the first few years. Now later when they hit their teen years . . ., well, you'll probably be too attached by then to get rid of them. :)

As for Bush, as the old man used to say: Boo F--king Hoo!