Secrets and Lies

Given his knack for political payback and his staggering cowardice in acknowledging failure, Bush's intense need for secrecy should come as no surprise. His energy plan, currently stalled in Congress, was the work of a Dick Cheney commission in 2001 that formulated the strategy in conjunction with industry lobbyists behind closed doors. After facing down the GAO, Cheney refused demands from Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club to release the names of participants and records related to their discussions, claiming executive privilege. The case is now awaiting resolution by the Supreme Court.

The confrontation over the energy plan shows the shocking arrogance, sheer chutzpah, and massive cajones of this administration. It is in fact a rare triple irony. First, the conservatives defending Cheney are the same ones who pilloried Hillary Clinton in 1993/4 for holding private hearings on health care reform. (That plan, of course, was later scuttled by insurance industry lobbyists and a GOP worried that a Democratic victory on health care could make them the majority party for a generation.) Second, while the commission was putting in place its energy plan benefiting producers in the spring of 2001, Bush's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission refused to assist California in the face of obvious market manipulation by Enron, Duke and other companies. The bitter result was Karl Rove's wet dream; the recall of Democratic Governor Gray Davis in the wake of the budget devastation that the previous Republican administration's energy deregulation policy created. Last, a Supreme Court featuring close Cheney friend and fellow duck-hunter Antonin Scalia is now poised to decide the case of In Re Richard B. Cheney.

In a perverse way, the many forms assumed by Bush's secrets and lies are impressive. For example, extremist judicial nominees such as Miguel Estrada and Charles Pickering are coached to not reveal their personal beliefs or answer hypothetical questions from the Senate committee members. Democrats, of course, are then charged with obstruction. And only two months after passage of the Medicare reform bill, the administration upped the price tag by $140 billion, a jump of one-third. (Apparently, that's a small price to pay for gutting the Medicare program.) Most spectacularly, Bush, who over years has received over $500,000 dollars from Ken Lay, said following the Enron implosion on January 10, 2002 that Pioneer Lay supported Ann Richards in 1994:

"I got to know Ken Lay when he was the head of the-what they call the Governor's Business Council in Texas. He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994. And she had named him the head of the Governor's Business Council. And I decided to leave him in place, just for the sake of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken."

Perhaps most intriguing is W's penchant for taking credit where it is not due. This dates back to his days as Texas governor, when he took credit for a Patients Bill of Rights, which passed over his veto. It also includes federalizing airport screeners and creating the Department of Homeland Security, Democratic initiatives he initially opposed. (Bush later bludgeoned the Democrats with the DHS issue in the 2002 mid-term elections when they opposed his gutting of civil service protections.) In addition, Bush claims his tax reforms are helping drive the current jobless recovery; the only component of near-term stimulus was the $300 rebate originally advocated, as with DHS, by Democrat Joe Lieberman. Sadly, Bush is now trumpeting the prescription drug benefit included with Medicare reform, a benefit he opposed and only eventually accepted in exchange for the privatization of Medicare starting in 2010.

During the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush said that his favorite philosopher was Jesus, because he "changed my heart." If only it were true.

1. Hell Hath No Fury Like a W Scorned
2. Being W Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry
3. Secrets and Lies