Who Really Took Over During That Colonoscopy

[cal04]

By FRANK RICH

THERE was, of course, gallows humor galore when Dick Cheney briefly grabbed the wheel of our listing ship of state during the presidential colonoscopy last weekend. Enjoy it while it lasts. A once-durable staple of 21st-century American humor is in its last throes. We have a new surrogate president now. Sic transit Cheney. Long live David Petraeus!

It was The Washington Post that first quantified General Petraeus’s remarkable ascension. President Bush, who mentioned his new Iraq commander’s name only six times as the surge rolled out in January, has cited him more than 150 times in public utterances since, including 53 in May alone.

As always with this White House’s propaganda offensives, the message in Mr. Bush’s relentless repetitions never varies. General Petraeus is the “main man.” He is the man who gives “candid advice.” Come September, he will be the man who will give the president and the country their orders about the war.

And so another constitutional principle can be added to the long list of those junked by this administration: the quaint notion that our uniformed officers are supposed to report to civilian leadership. In a de facto military coup, the commander in chief is now reporting to the commander in Iraq. We must “wait to see what David has to say,” Mr. Bush says.

http://wealthyfrenchman.blogspot.com/2007/07/who-really-took-over-during-that.html

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. I hope, for his sake, Gen P has video

of ** and a goat having sex, or he will be the fall guy for the whole mess.

[frogcycle]

2. Petraeus made a deal to get the job

he will report and recommend whatever bush wants him to, so bush can say he is listening to his generals on the ground.

cheneys hand up bushs backside, bush's up petraeus's

[Spinzonner]

3. Somebody should just tell him

to Get a Room

[Briar]

4. Excellent article

It's always encouraging to hear the military being criticised. They are the state's strong arm, the thing which says that ultimately it has power of life or death over the people - which is bad enough. When the military is venerated and treated as hallowed guardians of core values (what core values? The willingness to kill when ordered?) then a country is in dire danger. Criticism of civilian politicians because they are deemed to have betrayed the "heroes" of the armed forces has been a prelude to military or authoritarian take-overs in the past.

[Lisa]

5. excellent point!

The Roman emperor Septimius Severus once said, "take care of the soldiers; and disregard everyone else", or words to that effect. And for much of its history, the military effectively controlled the government, deciding who would become emperor. Usually the results were pretty dismal (or at least, highly inequitable to most of the population).

What really impresses me is hearing former servicepeople criticizing worship of the military. (A shout-out to a couple of Vietnam-era Marines I know, Bill and Hank -- they are real Americans and will not stand for anybody hiding behind the military, or using it as an excuse to prop up false patriotism, or attack the Constitution.)