Not So, David Gergen

Another article in today’s New York Times needs debunking. David Gergen’s editorial, “The Power of One”, makes one assertion that is certainly true. The Bush administration resembles the Nixon administration. But his other assertion is very much in error--that George W. Bush is in charge of his administration. David Gergen was an advisor to President Richard M. Nixon of Watergate fame so his expertise on that administration cannot be doubted. In fact, when speculation was running rampant on who Deep Throat might be, David Gergen was a front-runner in the top suspects list. In the end, he was beaten out among the theorists by Fred Fielding (lately a Commissioner on the 9/11 Commission) who had been deputy to White House Counsel, John Dean. Of course, to this day, no one will confirm who Deep Throat was (or is). Gergen’s editorial likens Nixon’s troika (Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Henry Kissinger) to Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Condoleezza Rice in the Bush administration. This would be true if Bush were at the helm. But he isn’t. Gergen has given Bush a larger-than-life persona which Bush does not and cannot inhabit. Gergen backs up his claim by quoting Woodrow Wilson, “the president is at liberty, both in law and conscience, to be as big a man as he can.'' Gergen says, “President Bush comes Texas-sized”. No he doesn’t. George W. Bush is not a man of stature. His persona is even smaller than his physical build. He is maybe Rhode Island-sized. Karl Rove runs things, and Rove’s troika is Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and the CEO of the Carlyle Group, Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. George W. Bush isn’t even in line to be a fly on the wall in troika meetings, let alone run a troika. And Condi Rice? Please! If we are going to understand how the Republicans came to power and how they plan to run roughshod over our rights, rape our legal system, and terrorize our populace, then we have to understand what the GOP power structure is and who is running the government. Our leaders are not little George Bush and his hand-holder, little Condi Rice. We are being lead around by the nose by Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and the Carlyle Group. Them’s the facts guys. Half the battle won is knowing who the enemy is.