The `Morality` of This President
By Al Staggs, Chaplain and Performing Artist
Bedford, Texas
During the last years of Bill Clinton`s presidency, much was said and written about the Monica Lewinsky affair and the gross immorality of this president. President Clinton reaped a whirlwind of criticism from all sectors of American society and the most vehement responses came from leaders of the Religious Right. Clinton`s infidelity and impropriety were admittedly abominable and egregious in nature. His moral failure put his entire two-term presidency, with all of his political and economic accomplishments, under the specter of scandal.
In contrast, George Bush`s two years in the Oval Office have been free of personal moral scandals. He has been forthcoming concerning his membership in the United Methodist Church and his experience of conversion following a meeting with Billy Graham. Whereas Clinton was the recipient of a constant barrage of criticisms by the Religious Right, both before and after the Monica Lewinsky debacle, George Bush has enjoyed the unwavering support and affirmation from this powerful religious and politically influential body. There is little about this president that leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, D. James Kennedy, Franklin Graham and others do not admire. They threw their outspoken support for him during Bush`s run for the presidency and they have not ceased in that support. Many of these leaders refer to George Bush as "God`s Man" for the job.
How does one measure the morality of a presidency? As important as personal virtues are to the measure of the person holding the highest political office, do not the economic, political and military policies of a president carry even more moral weight in the discussion of morality? Concerning the issue of war with Iraq, the Religious Right has provided carte blanche support to President Bush`s decision to launch a full-scale and deadly invasion on Iraq. The invasion, which resulted in the deaths of more than 4000 Iraqi civilians and likely thousands more casualties, did not meet the criteria for a just war and could not even be termed a "pre-emptive war." It was, as Noam Chomsky has cited a "preventive war", an attack carried out by our country against another nation which might pose a potential challenge to our security. Such a policy violates international law. Whatever moral high ground the President and his minion of religious supporters could claim for unleashing this deadly force against an already weakened nation was eliminated by the fact that to date no weapons of mass destruction, Bush`s rationale for invasion, have been found. Additionally, the invasion was carried out in spite of an ongoing international effort to locate weapons in Iraq and Saddam Hussein`s reduction of arms. The reason for the invasion clearly was oil, the ruse was weapons of mass destruction and the "liberation of the Iraqi people." The Iraqi people have not in any sense of the word been liberated. Thousands of bombs destroyed this nation`s homes, buildings, hospitals and infrastructure, not to mention the thousands of dead and wounded and the looting of property continues. Making war should be the last option. For the Bush Administration it was the first and only option. Any question of George Bush`s morality must be viewed in respect to his decision to launch military action against Iraq and not to listen to the voices of protests of millions of U.S. and world citizens and to the protests of leaders of his own Methodist family to "give peace a chance." Peace was never given a chance, and this president is morally culpable.
The other major issue in the discussion of George Bush`s morality must be viewed in the light of his Tax Cut program, the centerpiece of his economic policy. The 318 billion dollar cut will favor the wealthiest of Americans while penalizing the poor and middle class and deprive states of desperately needed funds for health, welfare and education. Once again, leaders of the Religious Right have been unstinting in their support of President Bush`s economic policies. In the public statements by Religious Right gurus there is never any mention of the economic disaster that will befall millions of Americans and needlessly and unjustly reward the wealthiest of Americans as a result of this tax cut policy. The teachings of the Hebrew prophets and the message of Jesus about favoring the rich and the neglect of the poor are never cited in the sermons and proclamations of those who wear their ministerial identities with an air of self-righteousness and moral certitude. The moral vices of Bill Clinton, as unseemly as they were, did not affect the poor and middle class nearly as much as the tax cut policies of George Bush.
The question of a president`s morality must be viewed not only from the perspective of personal habits and virtues, but more importantly, from the perspective of systemic justice and systemic evil. Using the power of the presidency to wage war and the refusal to wage peace combined with an economic policy of rewarding the rich while penalizing the poor is systemic injustice and systemic evil. Just as Bill Clinton`s presidency can never be viewed without the vale of scandal, so George Bush`s presidency can never be judged without consideration of the issues of justice and peacemaking.
