Wednesday, September 01, 2004

George W. Bush's missing year

The story Mary Jacoby tells is a sad one. It was a time of tumult for young George. And sad as that may have been, sadder still was the cover-up. Especially for the old friends who found themselves frozen out as an expedient to the family's ambition.

A basic component of 12-step and other recovery programs is to make an inventory of the wrongs one has done to people and to make direct amends for those wrongs wherever possible. It's too bad George W didn't come forward when he began his political life and say,

"I was young and foolish once and I caused lots of trouble for lots of people. I abused my commitment to military service and I am not proud of that. I dedicate a portion of the rest of my life to making amends to those people I have hurt."

Not only would he have been able to get that troubled past behind him politically but he would have genuinely demonstrated the kind of character that the image makers have attributed to him. It's too bad. It's just really too bad. Now, after attaining the country's highest office, that troubled past and all the baggage the subsequent coverup has accumulated over the years is rising up to reclaim him and his associates like the cursed House of Usher.

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