Do we need a president?

[nancylebov]

Suppose that Bush's advisors are convicted, or resign in disgrace, or are so busy and distracted that they can't do much advising. Then what? Bush could still be president for another three years. What does he do?

I suspect that Bush would just mark time, but what happens if there's a big terrorist attack in the US, or a major disaster?

Comments

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Someone near the top of a Federal agency might take over.

Or someone in the Senate.

Or someone in the military.

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

There is an enormous depth of personnel on a team like that; there are dozens of mini-Roves and Cheneys-light just waiting for their chance at the big show. You need not love (or hate) this administration to be aware that there are hundreds of folks out there helping them do what they do; how many of us outside the Beltway had heard of Harriet Meiers prior to her aborted promotion?

Speaking as an unabashed partisan, I don't think they could bumble things any worse than the first team did when presented with a big terrorist attack in the US and a major disaster.

[avram]

Well, the prominent heads that could conceivably be on the chopping block are Rove and Cheney, neither of whom has any actual military disaster-abatement knowledge.

[avram]

That’s “military or disaster-abatement knowledge”.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

There's depth of personnel in the Bush team, and, of course, much more depth in the federal government. I have no idea what the second and third strings are like (though I bet Harriet Miers would have done a better job as head of FEMA than Brown did), nor what happens if Bush deteriorates.

Speaking as an unabashed paranoid (as mental habit) and depressed person (for real) and a casual student of history, I'd say that the reaction to 9/11 could have been much worse--the US government has nukes. On a smaller scale, interning Arab Americans and other Arabs on US soil might have been politically possible.

I'm not sure about Katrina--I suppose help could have been held up even longer.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Well, does this mean that Bush loses the ability to get anything to happen at all? If the major neo-con voices are gone, is Bush completely in the hands of the religious right?

[ckd]

Apparently they lack the original as well, judging by results so far.

[avram]

What, are Rumsfeld and Condi part of the religious right now? (Well, Condi’s dad was a Presbyterian minister, so maybe, but I’m pretty sure she’s more part of the money-and-oil wing of the GOP than the Dominionist wing.) The current head of Homeland Security is Jewish, and the Attorney General is torture advocate Alberto Gonzales, who’s considered overly secular by the theocrats.

[kallisti.livejournal.com]

You are assuming, of course, that Bush Jr. is running the government.

He's just a figurehead that is being run by a small team that shares a lot in common with his father's regime. It's their second kick at the can, and the are blowing it wonderfully. Karl Rove managed to get a second term for his guy, but I am sure that when you compare the two regimes, you will find they are just one. If they goof up this one well enough, it will mean that we won't see Jeb as Bush #3 in the White House. I'm cheering for them!!!! :-)

ttyl

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

They'll use the contingency plan, already drawn up, to blame Clinton.

[landley.livejournal.com]

What would they do in the case of a terrorist attack? You mean like the world trade center? Nothing. Last time they went into hiding when it was all over. A day later Bush gave a speech he didn't even pretend to have written, and

A month later the country started venting its anger on Afghanistan, primarily because it was easy to do (and going after the actual training camps in pakistan, or the financial sources in Saudi Arabia, or putting operatives on the ground to actually capture Bin Laden, would have been hard.) Later, they used it as an excuse to do anything they felt like (create the office of Fatherland Security, declare war on a totally unrelated country, and so on).

What would they do in the case of a major disaster? You mean like New Orleans? As you may have noticed: Nothing.

There is always the danger that without Cheney or Blofeld or any of his other advisors, he'll start to actually try to do things on his own, which would be an obvious disaster considering he's an idiot. But luckily, he's also extremely lazy. (The nomination of Harriet to the supreme court showed both at once, fairly clearly...)

Rob