It's always the little things that trip you up. When President Bush the Elder said, "Read my Lips: no new taxes," he probably had no idea that the everyday hyperbole of politics would come back to haunt him as it did.
Many campaigning politicians suggest that they will not support tax increases if elected, but old George may have gone too far with the conviction of his promise. Everybody knows that, once politicians are elected, the business of governing and the need to balance budgets can change their views on taxes.
Our first President Bush experienced that transformation, and it could be argued that he should have been commended for the courage to admit that he was wrong. Instead, when he agreed to new taxes in spite of his promise, it led to an astonishing free-fall from the heights of popularity to the depths of political defeat.
Even though Bush the Elder emerged from The Gulf War as one the most popular American presidents in the history of scientific polling, he was forced to eat those six little words over and over again -- until his campaign for re-election choked on them. What would he have given to take those words back?
'GILDING THE LILY'
And now, George W. finds himself being taken to task for engaging in the very human practice of gilding the lily. As he was working to convince America and the world that Saddam Hussein was a risk to global peace, it seems that he embellished the facts with a bit of puffery.
Did Hussein try to purchase the raw materials necessary to build a nuclear bomb⢠The average citizen has no idea and probably would not care, if the president had not promised us that it was true.
The temptation to overstate your case in these situations must exude the irresistible scent of a mythological siren, because most of us would have followed him without the extra spins and flourishes. But with just a few little words and a couple of sentences, he has managed to turn around his wildly positive approval rating -- a la dad.
Of course, there are those brief expressions uttered by politicians that have inspired us and changed history. John Fitzgerald Kennedy urged us to ask what we "can do for our country," the Rev. Martin Luther King had "a dream" and Ronald Reagan directed Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." Without those well-chosen words, our civic lives would be diminished.
Winston Churchill, the greatest political wordsmith of our time, showed that sometimes even the most accomplished orator is unable to talk his way out of some tough spots. Like the Bushes, Churchill won a war and was hailed in a manner befitting a victorious Roman emperor immediately afterwards. And then, with equal enthusiasm, the voters cast him from public life and he suffered what he called "the ingratitude of democracy."
I don't know if loose lips sink ships, as it was stated on World War II anti-espionage posters, but careless oratory seems to scuttle political futures with great regularity. After Bush the Elder successfully commanded our troops in the Gulf, he met the fate of Churchill because of a few poorly chosen words. And now, we will see if the son can change what may have been written in the stars about his own political future.
TWINS' EXAMPLE
Sometimes words fail us and we find them being trumped by silent and resolute action. All the political rhetoric of all the world's politicians regarding the value of freedom and independence pales alongside the wordless example that was provided by Ladan and Laleh Bijani, the conjoined twins from Iran. Joined at the head, they sacrificed their lives by undergoing an operation that gave them the slimmest chance at liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It was no small thing that they were seeking. We Americans must be reminded occasionally that we do not have the market cornered on the values upon which our nation was founded. Some might argue that it is our national mission to enlighten the world about the American way of life, but it seems that people around the globe get it without our input.
The simple and wordless lesson of Ladan and Laleh is that people must be willing to lose their own lives in pursuit of their own freedom. It is just too easy to allow someone else to lose his or her life for your freedom. And if it is that easy, it is unlikely that you will appreciate and protect your freedom once you finally win it. This lesson, these young ladies taught without words.
Only quiet action will get George W. Bush out of the jam that his words have created. If he gets our troops home safely and soon, Americans will be inclined to focus on what he did instead of what he said. If, however, we continue to lose young people in a police action that was not part of the original deal, the president can expect that the people of this country will hold him to every promise and every statement and every word.
We owe at least that much to the quiet example of Ladan and Laleh.
