A Tragic Legacy

Bush'srise and fall are most evident in the 2002 election, which broughthim control of both houses of Congress, and the 2006 election, whichreversed that triumph. The president's chosen Manichean worldview andhis rigid refusal to consider other viewpoints have resulted in adisastrous administration and damage the nation will be living withfor generations, according to Greenwald (How Would a Patriot Act?2006). Greenwald begins by documenting Bush's political collapse andthen explores the core beliefs that have driven Bush's decisionmaking, as well as the broader philosophical and political dangers ofsuch strong convictions. He details how the president's absolutistmoralistic worldview, the simple identification of good and evil,overshadowed decisions that required more nuanced views in thelead-up to the war in Iraq. Advisors with other points of view wereignored as Bush's strong ends-justify-the-means approach resulted insuch decidedly un-American practices as indefinite detentions, use oftorture, and preemptive war. This is a compelling examination of howmoral beliefs can drive political decisions, with disastrousconsequences.