Now there’s a surprise. President Bush is going to base his reelection on the claim of being “a war president.” (His “Ownership Society” vision, which he delivered stillborn during his State of the Union address, has apparently been put on the backburner.) As he told Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” and repeated to National Guard troops in Louisiana on February 17th:

"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind. And again, I wish it wasn't true, but it is true. And the American people need to know they've got a president who sees the world the way it is. And I see dangers that exist, and it's important for us to deal with them." [Italics mine]

There’s only one problem: wartime presidents call on their citizens to sacrifice. From Lincoln (“until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword”) to Churchill (“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”) and JFK (“ask not what your country can do for you”, “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship”), true war leaders call on their people to sacrifice lives, livelihoods, personal freedom, and national treasure to bring ultimate victory in a long, painful struggle over the enemy.

When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Shopping

In contrast, President Bush did not call on Americans to mobilize resources or make any sacrifices in the war on terror. Instead, in the aftermath of the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, the President of the United States courageously and forthrightly called on the American people to “go shopping.”

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. As we’ve detailed elsewhere, Bush’s “Opt Out” philosophy encourages American citizens to turn their backs on their country, their communities, their schools and each other. As a result, Bush cannot exhort the country to make shared sacrifices abroad in the name of the common good and the public interest when his program at home tells Americans to fight it out in a Hobbesian struggle of each against all. This, combined with the administration’s staggering political cowardice, ensures that Americans will be asked to give up nothing, contribute nothing, and sacrifice nothing, except perhaps, their civil liberties.

1. When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Shopping
2. What Would a Real "War President" Do?
3. Democratic War Leadership in 2004