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10/30/2004 Archived Entry: "Speculations on Pat Robertson v. George W. Bush"

Interesting conjecture from an email correspondent about why Pat Robertson has become so publicly critical of Bush's belief that the war in Iraq could be won with no casualties...

The speculation: I was very puzzled by the fact that Robertson fired two shots across George's bow this late in the election season. The answer may be provided by a paragraph or two in this article. Of particular note is this: "Bush has behaved like a caricature of what a right-wing president is supposed to be, and his continuation in office will discredit any sort of conservatism for generations." and this "it is as if Bush sought to resurrect every false 1960s-era left-wing cliche about predatory imperialism and turn it into administration policy. Add to this his nation-breaking immigration proposal--Bush has laid out a mad scheme to import immigrants to fill any job where the wage is so low that an American can't be found to do it--and you have a presidency that combines imperialist Right and open-borders Left in a uniquely noxious cocktail." Robertson may realize that Bush is so ham-handed that he is in danger of doing for the words "faith based" and "religious right" what the 70s did for the words "left" and "liberal"--make them tags that can destroy someone's credibility for decades. Let's face it, Robertson is no Christian. He is a power player that uses the simpletons of the religious right as his "mahdi army". He is too sophisticated himself to believe that crap. What's more he is a survivor. He may realize that Bush has way overplayed his hand and if he wins again he could make matters worse. Same sort of reasoning as the article (safer to wait in the wings with Kerry then to become completely discredited by the impending disaster). If Bush attacks Iran or permits Israel to attack Iran then the shit will really hit the fan. The Iranians will not fall over like Iraq did. It is much larger in both size and population and thus much more difficult to control. They fought stubbornly in the Iran Iraq war and beat back Saddam Hussein even though he was brutal beyond words and backed by the military aid of the US. Any attack by Israel or the US (they are seen as tweedle dee and tweedle dum over there) will result in a fight that will overwhelm US capabilities. They are at the edge now of being able to handle Iraq without a draft and without major damage to the economy. The Iranians could shut down the straights of Hormuz and make the price of oil skyrocket. They could also attack the Saudi and Kuwaiti facilities along the Persian Gulf. Even if they don't destroy them the price of oil would go to the moon. I think a lot of conservatives, even ones who pretend to believe in an imminent second coming (like Robertson) see how far off the beaten path George Bush has dragged American and they are afraid of getting caught having supported him if he brings the temple down on his and their heads with his lack of skill and brash disregard for reality.