Crisis Mode

Richard Cohen today draws the inevitable comparison:

I do not want to belabor the analogy to WMD, but really it is almost impossible to do so. The same exaggerations, false claims of crisis and ideological fantasies — $2 trillion in additional debt simply not mattering is the functional equivalent of U.S. troops being welcomed by ecstatic Iraqis — are being seen once again. A president who wanted war with Iraq no matter what now wants to overhaul the Social Security system no matter what. Last time, I raised my hand and enlisted. This time, it's staying on my wallet.

Bush is now in permanent crisis mode. When ideology demands a course of action, a convenient crisis is announced and the big push begins. We saw this with Iraq, and we're seeing it again with Social Security. In contrast, if Bush is flummoxed on an issue, then ipso facto, there can be no crisis: witness the administration's reaction to the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

Bush's method is not just duplicitous, it's disastrous — it means he gets his crises all wrong. Social Security isn't in crisis, but nuclear proliferation is a huge threat that has never been solidly addressed by this White House. But what should we expect? Working within the confines of reality is hard work, and we all know how Bush feels about that.