Dumb & Dumber: Bush/Cheney Play Mute!!

THE OUTRAGEOUS SILENCE OF
DUMB AND DUMBER!

BUSH AND CHENEY PLAY MUTE
AS THE NATION BLEEDS!

It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable: Moliere

THE STUNT

Let’s get our terms straight here.  We’re not talking “Dumb” as in lacking intellectual acuity or understanding.  We’re talking “Dumb” as in lacking the power or ability of speech. We’re talking about a stunt in which the President and Vice President have turned themselves into non communicative mutes. We’re talking about George Bush and Dick Cheney, the silent duo who will not answer to the people of this nation.  We’re talking about two men who scoff at any attempt to hold them accountable for their crimes.

We’re talking about an untenable and unacceptable moment in our history, when silence has become a blight on the presidency and a slap in the face to the nation.
 

We’re talking about a nefarious President and his cohort who have chosen to play Dumb and Dumber in a very dangerous game.

It is absolutely astounding that, despite all the scandals and failures that surround their administration, the two men at the top simply refuse to utter a word of explanation.  No matter who asks the questions, they refuse to answer. Our nation is bleeding from the wounds that these men consciously conspired to inflict, but they have nothing at all to say to us.  At this crucial moment when the country is in free fall, George Bush and Dick Cheney have conveniently lost their tongues. The leaders of the free world are playing mute, and it is high time to call their bluff.  

Not surprisingly, their ruse is being treated by the press as ordinary as inconsequential.  Only days ago in Argentina, the President “batted away questions,” about Karl Rove. He “declined to answer,” they wrote; he “sidestepped the question.”   No one talked of a “cover up” or a  “conspiracy,”  – no one at all.

Despite the apparent evasiveness of the President, the reporters who asked about a major scandal seemed unperturbed that he simply `wouldn’t comment.”  They showed no overt frustration or disappointment.  They asked no follow up questions and raised no additional voices.  Instead, when the man in the limelight waved them off, the members of the press simply folded their tents and meekly crept away.

The moral of the story is pretty clear: playing Dumb isn’t really a dumb move at all.  In fact, it works so well that it reeks of Karl Rove cunning.

THE FALLOUT

A fairly reliable political tactic warns that if something ain’t broken, don’t fix it.  To prove the validity of that statement, consider the way in which the Bush administration positioned itself from day one. From the start, their message was clear and unmistakable:  

We are above the people and we are above the law.  We are accountable to no one.  We are responsible to no one.  We will tolerate no questions, no criticism, and no investigations.  We are the power, and we will destroy anyone who gets in our way.
 

That strategy has been eminently successful for nearly five years.  During that time it was never broken and there was absolutely no need to fix it, because much of the nation cheered it on.  But as the poet knew, even the best laid plans of mice, men, and neocons can go astray. And so they did.

Somehow, in the past few weeks, the roof has caved in on the Bush White House.  Somehow, despite the arrogant belief that they could get away with anything, the Bush team is up against the proverbial wall.  And somehow, for the first time in all these years, people are asking questions.

But questions are not enough, as Special Counsel Fitzgerald discovered in the Plame case. They are worthless without the answers, and a measured silence can assure that they remain little more than enigmas.  And so, we see the efficacy of the Dumb and Dumber routine by our leaders.  They refuse to speak to us.  They refuse to answer our questions.  They remain mute about the most important issues that this nation has faced in generations.  And they get away with it.

But, in reality, that silence is totally and abjectly unacceptable.  As elected officials, our leaders are accountable to every single one of us. Their actions must be consistent with the provisions of the Constitution they swore to uphold, and they must answer any and all questions about the decisions they make.   That’s not a choice they have.  It’s an obligation of their office.

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have failed miserably in that obligation.  That cannot go on doing so.  It is time that they are forced to come before this nation to explain the failures of their policies and to clarify their roles in the crimes that have been committed on their watch.
 

Among a very long list of misdeeds, these two men MUST, at the very least, clearly and fully explain the following: