Republicans for Kerry (4/22/04)
by Dean Hartwell
If this presidential election were a poker game, Senator John Kerry would have some of the best cards in the deck. What remains to be seen is how he plays them.
One by one, four authors have penned their criticisms of President Bush in best-selling books. And these authors all have something in common.
First, Paul O’Neill, former Treasury Secretary to Bush, confided his disenchantment to Ron Suskind in the latter’s The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill. O’Neill stated that the president asked very few questions of aides who provided him with information. He also said that the Bush Administration placed removing Saddam Hussein high on its priority list right after taking office, long before officials say they did. And, if that wasn’t enough, O’Neill, concerned over the effect continued tax cuts would have upon the nation’s deficit, approached Vice-President Cheney, who told him, “Deficits don’t matter.”
Then, Richard Clarke released Against all Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror right at the time he gave testimony before the September 11th Commission. Clarke served as the Bush Administration’s expert on terrorism. He revealed that the Administration ignored signs that terrorists were about to strike the United States right before September 11th. Clarke apologized to the families of the victims for his lack of preparedness in identifying the threats and preventing harm to the nation.
Next, John Dean wrote Worse than Watergate: the Secret Presidency of George W. Bush. A special counsel to President Nixon, Dean was the one who warned Nixon that Watergate was a “cancer on the presidency.” Dean accuses President Bush and others at the White House of using the September 11th tragedy for political purposes and asserts that Bush and Cheney have committed crimes and violated civil liberties.
Most recently, veteran political observer Bob Woodward came out with Plan of Attack. He accuses the president of conspiring with Saudi Arabia to adjust oil prices to help him win the November election. He says that the Bush Administration took money allocated by Congress for the war in Afghanistan and shifted it to fight Iraq. He also agrees with O’Neill and Suskind that the Bush Administration planned on attacking Iraq long before they say they did.
What do these four authors have in common?
They are all Republicans. As such, it is much harder for the Bush Administration to deflect criticism as being “politics.”
It also brings to mind previous presidential elections when members of the president’s political party publicly stated their opposition. In 1992, Republicans frustrated with the elder President Bush formed “Republicans for Clinton,” which helped Clinton go to the White House. In 1980, Democrats who didn’t want President Carter to get a second term called themselves “Democrats for Reagan.” And, in 1972, leading Democrats like John Conally thwarted any chance George McGovern had in winning election by creating “Democrats for Nixon.”
Kerry should remind the voters of these four Republican authors because they are all aces. He could put Bush on the defensive and question his leadership much more subtly than criticizing on his own. Unless Bush has a straight flush up his sleeve, he hasn’t got a chance.
Editor's Note: John Dean is actually a registered independent.