‘External events’

March 23, 2006

The New York Times ran yet another item today on the idea that the White House staff is exhausted and getting sloppy — and probably needs some “relief pitchers” with fresh arms. But more importantly, the article included one paragraph that helped capture so much of what’s wrong with this White House.

By most accounts inside and outside the administration, Mr. Rove is relentlessly cheerful, presenting himself as an optimistic face in a gloomy White House. One person who met Mr. Rove said he attributed Mr. Bush’s problems more to external events, in particular Hurricane Katrina and Iraq, than to anything the White House did wrong.

Now, there are no quote marks around the comments, so the Times was paraphrasing someone who talked to Rove directly. But the very idea that the White House would look at their colossal mistakes in Iraq and in response to Katrina as “external events” is truly breathtaking. (And at the same time, not terribly surprising.)

I’d love a little follow-up on this. Does the White House consider the war and the inept response to Katrina as events that just “happened”? Does the Bush gang just look at these tragedies as unavoidable accidents? Do they not see any connection between the president’s policies/decisions and the events themselves? I’m genuinely curious, because at this point, I’m not sure how they’d respond.

Welcome to Bush’s idea of the “era of responsibility” — where historic blunders are external events over which he has no control.

This is simple. It’s because in Karl Rove’s world, the White House is a political actor. Policy is external. So when an agency screws up, that’s not “anything the White House did wrong.” Remember that the Bush folk have basically removed policy expertise and experience from the qualifications for high-ranking offices. It’s entirely political at the top. So if something substantive is wrong, that’s outside the White House; only if there are political errors is it inside.

And is it really that hard to believe that Karl Rove thinks he hasn’t made any political errors?

  • Well, let’s see.

    Katrina ‘just happened’. It was an ‘external event’. As you point out, the response was Bush/Chertoff/Brown’s responsibility but you can’t expect them to be able to respond to a hurricane of this magnitude correctly. I mean, who else ever has?
    …just everybody in the history of the Federal government before them.

    As for the war, sure it was Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz’s idea. But the insurgency/civil war ‘just happened’ didn’t it? I mean, who prodicted this?
    …Shinseki, George H.W. Bush, etc.

    But you really can’t expect Rove to take blame for this, can you? 😉

  • 9/11–an external event (although it could have been prevented by these schmucks had they focused on it)

    War in Afghanistan–our choice to proceed (and a good one) so not an external event

    War in Iraq–our choice to proceed (and a realy really bad one, followed by many, many poor choices in realtion to it) so not an external event

    Hurricane Katrina–an external event

    Response to Hurricane Katrina–the Sadministration had many options available to it and chose the most incompetent and least supportive, led by the most incompetent which were all decisions/choices made by the Sadministration, so not external events (not to mention our weakened ability to respond as the local national guard were unavailable due to service in Iraq).

    Illegal wiretapping–this was a choice, so not an external event

    Outing of a CIA agent–again, a choice, but a pretty bad one by a number of “geniuses” in the Sadministration, so not an external event

    And so on
    And so on
    and so on

  • Oh and not to forget the Dubai ports fiasco–clearly a choice made by the Sadministration so not an external event–

  • How could these guys ever get up in the morning if they appreciated the truth–that their arrogance, incompetence, corruption, inhumanity and deceit have resulted in the deaths, injury and misery of thousands, if not millions of people? No, they don’t, and can’t possibly, have the capacity for seeing reality and be able to keep on going, much less keep on this disastrous course. Remember too, that Bush takes the easy way out on everything and that the “decisions” he makes are based on how God guides him (ie. the first thought that comes into his head he considers to be divinely inspired). Thus, no personal responsibility or regret is ever warranted and everything is just as it should be. Thus cheerfulness and certainty amid the carnage. And let’s face it, God has been so good to these evil morons, seemingly helping them as they amply help themselves. What else could explain how so much can be so terribly wrong, but they are still in place and smiling?

  • If you start thinking like an evil bastard, it sort of makes sense.

    After the election, Rove thought the White House would breeze through based upon it’s election “mandate.” Coming into 2005, Rove saw a compliant press, a thoroughly whipped Democratic Party, and an easily manipulated public. And with the administration’s penchant for secrecy, it’d be easy to hide what the government is actually doing.

    Rove’s plan derailed with Katrina and the short slide into civil war in Iraq. The problem with those and other “external events” wasn’t the government’s response but that people started to pay attention and asking questions. It’s hard work trying to convince people that the federal government has the situation under control when they see bodies floating in the streets.

    Assuming Katrina never hit and Iraq somehow held together, Bush would still be relatively popular, the press wouldn’t be skeptical, and Democrats wouldn’t have a shot at winning the House or Senate. The New York Times would probably have never published it’s story on NSA warrantless surveillance. They certainly didn’t when Bush was “popular.” If it weren’t for external circumstances, Bush would still be riding high from his electoral victory.

    But that’s just from the evil bastard point of view.

  • Not sure where I saw it (it may have been here), but there was a reference to Fox News saying that “war broke out” 3 years ago as if it were influenza or something.

  • prm,

    excellent analysis. Thanks for the insight into that point of view, I think you are dead on correct.

  • In a sense, he really does have no control over these external events.

    Because Bush’s administration has bled our national treasure into tax cuts and graft, and a little bit into the war, what has been happening to the national infrastructure? You know, the infrastructure to deal with and/or prevent disasters from happening, as well as support the economy.

    It really is like Hitler and Army Group Steiner. The federal government has all of these paper resources, and just enough genuine resources to give the illusion of actual functioning here and there, but is totally unable to do anything except struggle in futility against the long decline. Is there any story lately where the government actually did something new and big–like the Apollo program–and didn’t fuck it up beyond belief?

    And does anyone think our army, after now three years of neglect and disintegration and living in ghetto conditions, is going to be able to hold off the Iranians? But Bush and Rove have Army Group Steiner, so they might well order our planes to attack, thinking that our troops will rout the ragheads at the first pop of an M-16.

  • “One person who met Mr. Rove” — which is Rove saying this right? That’s him talking, and his spin using the opposite of a strawman “some people”

  • I know how to cheer thing up around the white house. Fire the lot of them beginning with their boss, W. Notice how they keep on grinnin’? Remember, the boss loves idiots.

  • It’s simple: The Bush administration believes all their actions are “external” and, therefore, they are not responsible for these–their–actions and are not to be held accountable.

    It’s the height of political irresponsibility in which Bush and his cohorts believe he can do no wrong and can do anything he wants to–with or without laws (mainly without) as he believes he’s above the law.

    Please, Congress, have the courage to at least censure this “leader” who has, in every one of his endeavors, caused and created more long-term problems–rather than solved any actual problems facing this nation and its citizens.

  • Gravity is an unexpected disaster if you believe you can fly .

    Karl Rove is the White House Tinkerbell in that faith based never-never land where reality is an external event.

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