Bush gets another bad grade

All summer, Bush has been insisting that we wait for official government reports on Iraq before we judge whether his surge strategy has worked or failed. Well, the GAO is reportedly on track to “conclude that at least 13 of the 18 benchmarks set to judge the Iraqi government’s performance in the political and security arenas haven’t been met.”  And what is Bush’s response?  To acknowledge that his strategy is failing?  To admit that his leadership is deficient?  To take responsibility for failure?  Of course not.  According to the Bush Administration, the problem is that the benchmarks are too hard, and that they only measure whether or not requirements are met, not whether “progress” has been made. 

No wonder Bush never liked going to school.  Teachers might acknowledge progress, but they give grades for success or failure, and that’s just something a perennial failure like Bush doesn’t enjoy. 

And have you noticed where else the Bush Administration has been laying blame for the failure to meet benchmarks?  On the Iraqi government, of course.  Yes, says Bush, the fault lies with the Iraqi government and with the benchmarks themselves, certainly not with the White House imbecile and his Republican cronies who set the whole mess into motion and who have mismanaged the operation every step of the way. 

All of which makes me wonder how much closer we and the Iraqi’s might be to meeting the benchmarks if Bush would put the blame where it belongs, and make the sorts of changes that genuine personal responsibility might foster.  The worst thing about failure often isn’t the failure itself; it’s the scapegoating by inept leaders who are content to prolong other peoples’ agony to protect their own egos.

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grumpypilgrim

Grumpypilgrim is a writer and management consultant living in Madison, WI. He has several scientific degrees, including a recent master’s degree from MIT. He has also held several professional career positions, none of which has been in a field in which he ever took a university course. Grumps is an avid cyclist and, for many years now, has traveled more annual miles by bicycle than by car…and he wishes more people (for the health of both themselves and our planet) would do the same. Grumps is an enthusiastic advocate of life-long learning, healthy living and political awareness. He is single, and provides a loving home for abused and abandoned bicycles. Grumpy’s email: grumpypilgrim(AT)@gmail(DOT).com [Erich’s note: Grumpy asked that his email be encrypted this way to deter spam. If you want to write to him, drop out the parentheticals in the above address].

This Post Has 6 Comments

  2. Avatar of Edgar Montrose
    Edgar Montrose September 1, 2007 Reply

    In "No Child Left Behind", when a school fails to meet unreasonable benchmarks, the facts are reported and the school is shut down.

    In Iraq, when Bush's policies fail to meet reasonable benchmarks, the facts are altered and the reporters are shut down.

    Maybe we should invoke "No Soldier Left Behind".

  3. Avatar of grumpypilgrim
    grumpypilgrim September 4, 2007 Reply

    On his surprise visit to Iraq last weekend, Bush asserted that things are going great over there, despite all the evidence of failure. So, I guess we should just all believe him and ignore the facts.

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