Bush Surviving Due to Apathy

During a Press Conference in September 2003, President Bush was asked to remark on the ongoing Valerie Plame/CIA Leak investigation. His response?"Listen, I know of nobody -- I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action. And this investigation is a good thing . But I want to tell you something -- leaks of classified information are a bad thing. And we've had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I've spoken out consistently against them and I want to know who the leakers are."

So then, if leaks are "bad," and the investigation is "good," how would the president characterize the recent revelation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby? According to Libby's testimony before the grand jury in the case, he was told to leak classified information to the press by Vice President Cheney who was acting on the orders of the president.

According to a lawyer quoted in the Washington Post on Friday, "Bush merely instructed Cheney to 'get [the classified information] out' and left the details to him." Merely?

Rep. Jane Harman of California was far more candid in her assessment of the situation: "If the disclosure is true, it's breathtaking. The president is revealed as the leaker-in-chief."

If proven to be true, Libby's testimony could have earth shattering implications. Sadly, those implications may still culminate in . nothing. Perhaps a slap on the wrist, a "shame on you, Mr. president;" beyond that, the president has little cause for concern. The Legislature is not likely to pull the reins in on him -- one need only look at the dismal failure of Senator Feingold's attempt to censure him recently. Feingold's efforts succeeded only in his own ostracism. While senators on both sides of the aisle have been quick to criticize the president, they are shamefully silent when called to take action.

By tossing out the Jose Padilla case, which, if heard, could have led to the imposition of limits on the president's wartime authority, the Supreme Court also demonstrated their reluctance to impose a check on the Executive Branch. The president, like the spoiled child of overly indulgent parents, continues to act in an abominable manner, without the slightest concern for repercussions. He can lie, he can completely disregard the Constitution, he can make up the rules as he goes along -- and he can do so with the confidence that no one will try to stop him.

How, one might ask, is this possible? The answer: apathy. The apathy shared by the American public, resulting from endless corruption, lies, and duplicity on the part of its elected officials. Analysts and pundits look to the dismal failings of our efforts to establish democracy in Iraq and ask, "What went wrong?" Among the plethora of answers to this question, one of the most important is often overlooked: We have provided no model to which any fledgling government would wish to aspire. Instead, our government has consistently shown itself to be one riddled with double standards, whether in regards to treatment of detainees, ethical behavior of elected representatives, or any other area in which our democracy is supposed to be superior to any other government on the face of the planet.

And yet, the apathy felt by so many Americans is not difficult to understand. For apathy is surely a more comfortable sentiment than outrage - and how is it possible not to feel outraged when spending more than five seconds reading the newspaper? (Personally, I've taken to reading the NY Times while on the elliptical trainer at the gym -- as my blood begins to boil, I crank up the resistance on the machine, leading to quite the intense workout! But I digress .)

The testimony of Scooter Libby offers a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel of hopelessness. Perhaps finally, finally, this Administration will be held accountable for its actions. The chief prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, will not easily be deterred from pursuing this investigation as far up the Administrative ladder as is necessary. Perhaps when enough tangible evidence has amassed, the other two branches of government will at last be willing to say "Enough!" Whether the apathy of the American public will prove to be fatal, even if such events transpire, remains to be seen.