[Politics] The Loyalty Vacuum in Bush's Post-Presidency

I know that George W. Bush is very concerned about how history will view him, so I hope he is preparing for what we have only gotten a brief glimpse of so far: his post-presidency backlash. On Monday, former CIA Director George Tenet will release a book in which he faults the Bush administration, specifically Vice President Dick Cheney, for rushing to war with Iraq without a serious debate on how to contain Saddam Hussein. ABC News has a report.

I imagine that Tenet will be one of the first few, among many former officials working under the Bush administration, that have bitten their lip until the Bush White House was at least of the lame duck status. Come 2009, who knows how many people from inside the administration will voice their true opinion.

Such is the nature of politics that value loyalty to an individual over loyalty to principal. When you ignore alternative perspectives and force everyone into the same close-minded discourse, you inevitably end up with a group of people who will humor you for the time being. Well, Bush's time is going, and once it is gone, the represed voices within his White House and the remainder of the bureaucracy will look for the first bullhorn they can find.

Once the gags are removed, the silent ones will be louder than ever. Once the yes-men have no one to yes, you will see what a veil their loyalty was. If you are concerned with how history will judge you Mr. President, then you should have realized, before you took office, that loyalty is something our government should have to all 300 million Americans, and not just to the one that sits behind the Oval Office desk.