I came upon this in a Nicholas Kristof column that appeared in the Arizona Star. Thought it might, er, interest you.
<<Bush has a tendency to use black-and-white acrylics to depict every aspect of the world: the Middle East, terrorism, African development, even the federal debt ceiling.
The starkness fits him, it matches the national mood, and it has mostly served the world's needs since 9/11.
But now the time has come for nuance. If Bush is content to shake his fist and win thunderous ovations, moral clarity is enough.
But if he wishes to oust Saddam Hussein, maintain peace in the Middle East, calm tempers in the Indian subcontinent, manage the rise of China and avoid war with North Korea, he must add some practicality to his principles.
All this runs against Bush's grain. Contrary to the critics' caricatures, Bush is intelligent, with an awesome memory, great management skill and a tremendous emotional IQ.
But he is also one of the least intellectually curious people I've ever interviewed, one of the least inclined to play with an idea and hold it to the light. One of the many ways in which he resembles his mother rather than his father is his tendency to make decisions based on intuition rather than intellect.
Both left and right in America have moralistic streaks that are always admirable, often useful and sometimes disastrous.>> |
