Thursday, April 25, 2024
Miles from the Mainstream
D. R. ZUKERMAN, proprietor
Memo To President Bush

JANUARY 23, 2005 --

Have read that you do not look at newspapers. (It would be terrific, however, if you were a weekly reader of Lonely Pamphleteer Review.)

Perhaps you don't look at the Dow Jones, as well. Perhaps you should. It seems that Wall Street is greeting your second term with a vote of no confidence.

Even GE is dropping notwithstanding its good performance of late. (Do you think GE stock is reflecting the grim news from NBC-TV?)

Anyway, I guess we can call it the Down Jones, these days.

Do you think that maybe you could deliver a State of the Union that will instill confidence and get the media to start to respect Republicans? Or maybe, first, could you get Republicans to stop acting
like a National Football League coach, accused on WFAN of playing to not lose when he should be playing to win.

Ever since November 8, 1994, the GOP has been playing to not lose. I think this is what Paul A. Gigot was arguing, basically, in The Wall Street Journal piece the other day.

If the GOP decides to play to win, it ought to use The Federalist Papers as playbook, I think. Until the Armstrong Williams controversy, I would have been
willing to accept a hundred thousand dollars or more to give the GOP some quotes from The Federalist Papers, in view of my hunch that pols in D.C. won't
take advice they don't pay big bucks for.

Probably would not be a good idea, now to take a nice stipend from the GOP -- even though journalists make speaking appearances for nice stipends.


Before I forget, Federalist 57, which advises leaders to stay close to the people, also praises the commitment of
the American people to liberty. And Federalist No. 1 warns that demagogues are tyrants-in-the making.

Although you did not refer to The Federalist Papers in your Second Inaugural, you did call for liberty and
spoke against tyranny.

See what I mean how those documents could serve as GOP playbook. And why shouldn't they, considering The Federalist Papers are commentaries in favor of the constitution you again swore to uphold and defend?

On another matter -- in view of the decision by Democrats to keep Condoleeza Rice from taking her post as Secretary of State right away, why not keep her at the White House for a spell.

Ms. Rice got some shabby treatment at the Senate hearing -- the snippet I heard
from Sen. Biden was, for me, particularly offensive.

I understand, also, that Senator Byrd defended the delay in her taking her new post, and in view of his racist past, his conduct on this matter is unacceptable. I am not sure, though, that these Democratic senators got the outrage they deserved.

One last comment -- perhaps if Republicans indicated an ability to stand up for themselves, against mean-spirited opposition, the American people would have more confidence that the GOP would stand with them, in support of our principles of... liberty and justice for all.

Just a thought.