Decidering Is Hard Work

While I am disappointed by the lack of serious engagement on the part of the Bush Administration with the situation in Lebanon, I must say that I'm not particularly surprised. As DK points out on TPM, Bush has never had any interest in wrestling with the problems in the Middle East. Indeed, he's never shown the any interest in addressing any serious problem with anything more complicated than a bumpersticker slogan. I have a feeling that his exclusive preference for simplistic solutions will be remembered as a defining feature of his administration.

Economic recession? All you have to do is cut taxes. International terrorist threat? Just invade Iraq — problem solved! Rising gas prices? Guess what — tax cuts again, this time for the energy industry. All very simple solutions to very complex problems, and no doubt they sound good to the voters at the start. But guess what — the success of each of these "plans" can be measured on a scale ranging from "useless" to "disastrous".

In the Middle East today, I have the distinct impression that the result of Bush's simplistic approach will tend more toward the "disastrous" end of the scale. Of course, there has been a change in focus to the crisis over the past three weeks. Initially the simple answer was to "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over". But when that first approximation was found wanting, Bush decided that the only action he will accept is one that solves all of the region's problems forever. Yeah, good luck with that.

In the media, this is called "progress", but it's just more of the same refusal to believe that some problems defy simple descriptions and simple solutions. You aren't moderating your position or learning from experience or listening to the sage council of others when you go from a plan that's just outright stupid to one that's simply an obvious attempt to stay the do-nothing-and-maybe-it-will-solve-itself course.

Some vitally important problems do not admit to total solutions. When faced with a problem like this, you work hard, muddle through, and do the best you can. Well, that's what adults do, but not our President. As we know, he's not a fan of hard work. And people die every day as a result.