The Rambo Patriotism of George W. Bush

On the second anniversary of 9/11, the author predicted an "ugly, bitter campaign" due to President Bush's lack of positive achievements and his reliance on secrecy to maintain power. The recent attacks on John Kerry have indeed surpassed expectations, with the author suggesting that Kerry's life story challenges Bush's attempts to confuse toughness with heroism. The Bush administration has been able to get away with questioning the patriotism of veterans like Kerry, McCain, and Cleland by exploiting the nation's "age of Rambo patriotism," where action movies have created a comforting illusion of virtuous heroes and villains.

Key Takeaways:

• President Bush has no positive achievements to run on, leading his inner circle to resort to secrecy and smear campaigns against opponents.
• The Bush administration has exploited the "age of Rambo patriotism" to question the patriotism of veterans like Kerry, McCain, and Cleland.
• The author notes that Kerry's life story challenges Bush's attempts to confuse toughness with heroism.
• The Bush administration has used innuendo and direct attacks to undermine Kerry's credibility.
• Veterans who served with Kerry confirm his wartime heroism, yet some have joined the smear campaign due to disagreements with his later statements against the war.
• Kerry's statements against the war in Vietnam were heroic acts that have become increasingly relevant given the debacle in Iraq.
• The author suggests that the Bush administration's tactics are designed to distract from the failures in Iraq and maintain power.

Statistics:

• 30 years have passed since the Vietnam War, yet American soldiers are again dying in a war that was sold on false pretenses.
• 15 months after George Bush strutted around in his flight suit, more and more Americans are echoing Gen. Anthony Zinni's criticisms of the Iraq war.
• A Texas Republican close to Karl Rove initially financed the campaign of garbage and lies against Mr. Kerry.
• 2 words: Abu Ghraib, used by the author to illustrate the moral cost of an ill-conceived war.

Sources:

• Ebert, Roger. "An Age of Rambo Patriotism." No specific source date, cited by the author.
• Zinni, Gen. Anthony. "The Debacle in Iraq." No specific source date, cited by the author.
• Kerry, John. "Speech against the War in Vietnam." No specific source date, cited by the author.