July 21, 2004

SEN. Robert C. Byrd’s new book, Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency, bluntly calls President Bush’s inner clique a circle of “warmongers” who distorted evidence to attain their long-sought goal of attacking Iraq. Byrd also accuses the Republican White House of ignoring working American families and plunging the federal government into horrendous debt by handing trillion-dollar tax giveaways to the affluent.

Byrd’s indictment is part of an amazing phenomenon: a tidal wave of new books alleging that the Bush administration is inflicting severe harm on America. Never before have so many books warned of looming danger from a U.S. presidency. Remarkably, some of them are by Republicans formerly inside the administration.

Here’s a partial list:

The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill, by Ron Suskind — Bush’s former treasury secretary reveals that the GOP clique began planning the Iraq attack from its first days in office, long before the 9/11 horror provided a pretext.

Against All Enemies: Inside the White House’s War on Terror — What Really Happened, by Richard A. Clarke — Bush’s former counterterrorism chief says the president, a shallow thinker, hounded intelligence experts to link the Iraqi regime with the 9/11 suicide fanatics.

Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, by John W. Dean — The former Watergate conspirator says the current White House — employing secrecy to camouflage corporate favoritism — actually is worse than the notorious reign of Richard Nixon.

Dark Victory: America’s Second War Against Iraq, by Jeffrey Record — The Army War College expert warns that Bush’s war was unnecessary, and has “made us less safe.”

Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terrorism, by Anonymous — A 22-year CIA agent says the White House has failed to grasp the profound religious roots of Muslim terrorism.

Plan of Attack, by Bob Woodward. This top national reporter says the president told him he consulted a “higher father” before ordering the Iraq invasion. The Great Unraveling:

Losing Our Way in the New Century, by Paul Krugman. This New York Times economist warns that President Bush practices “bad economics wrapped in the flag” as he gives boons to the rich and causes giant deficits. Krugman adds that the administration has extremist leaders who “do not accept the legitimacy of our current political system.”

House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World’s Two Most Powerful Dynasties, by Craig Unger. This book traces connections between Bush family oil companies in Texas and wealthy Saudis, including relatives of Osama bin Laden.

What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, by Thomas Frank. Wittily, the author points out that working-class evangelicals who hate abortion and gays back the party of wealth, which undercuts the working class.

The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception, by David Corn.

Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush’s America, by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose.

Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq, by Sheldon Rampton and John C. Stauber.

Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta, by Gore Vidal.

Dude, Where’s My Country?, by Michael Moore.

Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How it Distorts the Truth, by Joe Conason.

Thieves in High Places: They’ve Stolen Our Country — And It’s Time to Take it Back, by Jim Hightower.

The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America, by Eric Alterman, Mark Green and Mark J. Green. American Dynasty:

Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, by Kevin Phillips.

The Dirty Truth: The Oil and Chemical Dependency of George W. Bush, by Rick Abraham.

Etc., etc. In addition to these, at least a dozen other recent books outline hurtful effects of the current presidency. This avalanche of protest books is the greatest ever seen in America. The reason, obviously, is that never before has there been such reason to protest.

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Editorials/200407208

There's no question that this rash of books against Bush (especially important are the ones that come from conservatives like John Dean) are a response to the dreadful misleadership of George Bush. But I wonder if there isn't something else going on, too.

We've all been talking on this board about the polarization of Americans, the deep anger, on both sides, the media misrepresentations, the inability of either side to see the other's point of view. I think it's a frightening trend, and I've often wondered where it will end. So I wonder if all these books aren't also a response to the rabid right media, which has become so pervasive in this country.

When even major news networks and newspapers can't be relied upon to give an unbiased view of events, we have an information crisis. And since the major attention nationally is given to either the far-right outfits like Fox or middle-of-the-road-leaning-to-right outfits like CNN and MSNBC, perhaps all these books are a reaction to the media bias we're fed on a daily basis. Perhaps it's an attempt to show people the truth of what's really going on in this country, since they won't see it on TV.

Since we don't have any truly liberal news networks (on TV, anyway--radio offers a few) to counteract the effects of networks like Fox, these books become a way of giving people a more liberal point of view.

And then again, as BB said . . . since George Bush is the absolute worst and most dangerous president we've ever had, it's no surprise we have all these books coming out against him.

But it's preaching to the choir, I'm afraid. Few Bush supporters will read these books, and I doubt any will be converted.