In the second 2004 presidential debate, Linda Grable said to George W. Bush: “you have made thousands of decisions that have affected millions of lives. Please give three instances in which you came to realize you had made a wrong decision and what you did to correct it.”
Bush essentially skirted the issue. Instead of naming specific miscalculations, he misappropriated the time to defend invading Iraq and his tax cuts. (However, Bush said he would take responsibility for latent mistakes that future historians might uncover.)
Bush’s sidestepping illustrates his insatiable need to evade what Leon Festinger in 1956 first termed cognitive dissonance. That is, Bush cannot manage two competing thoughts in his head. Thus, he shirks any information that might contradict his mindset, thereby extricating himself from the world.
Now, I respect Prime Minister Tony Blair, who must doggedly defend himself in front of Parliament. Conversely, Bush does everything possible to elude disagreement and inquest.
As of late 2004, Bush has held the fewest solo press conferences (15) of all the modern presidents. His father held 83, Bill Clinton 42, and Lyndon Johnson, a wartime president, held 88. These solo “performances” are even scripted: Reporters and their questions are chosen ahead of time! Bush has also — unsurprisingly — refused to participate in more than the three requisite presidential debates.
Likewise, while campaigning in 2004, Bush held several town hall meetings in which only registered Republicans who signed a loyalty oath could ultimately attend. And when traveling, Bush has required that protesters be relegated to “free-speech zones,” far away from Bush and any media (for “security” reasons), and that street closings be announced shortly before arrival. For a 2004 trip to London, he even insisted that the police ban all protests and shut down the city center.
And in attempt to quell dissent, the Department of Homeland Security even disturbingly recommended to brand people who “expressed dislike of attitudes and decisions of the U.S. government” as potential terrorists. Say, Cindy Sheehan is still awaiting tea time with Bush.
Bush is further disentangling himself from the world by being sheltered and mollycoddled by his closest advisors, relying on them for “objective” news, not bothering to actually “read” newspaper articles. For a “war president,” Bush also conserves 20 percent of his presidency — 319 days over 4.5 years — to take what-me-worry “working” vacations at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. That is more than the total vacation time taken by both Clinton and Jimmy Carter in 12 years.
Dissemination of ideas and findings is integral so that scholars can read the newest literature, affably answer cynics, and if the data implicates it is necessary, revise theories.
Do Bush and company exercise any of these principles? Hardly, and they have stumbled repeatedly, whether futilely touting ostracized social security reform or misestimating for post-war reconstruction and embattlement in Iraq. Indeed, scientists and dissenters have never felt as much ideological smack as under Bush’s reign.
And in times of discord, Bush massages the data to put his mind at ease — e.g., seeing no difference between Hussein unquestionably possessing actual weapons of mass destruction and Hussein possessing “weapons-of-mass-destruction-related program activities.”
Everyone needs to employ cognitive shortcuts to brook the onslaught of stimulation we encounter daily. However, it’s disconcerting when the leaders of the free world exercise such detrimental cognitive biases in making some of the most crucial decisions today — especially when such biases helped them get re-elected.
Write to Russ at
rjwebster@bsu.edu
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