George Bush the Liberal

For a certain type of liberal, good intentions trump good results. Thus it doesn't really matter if an integration plan actually promotes integration so long as its supporters sincerely want integration. If an alternative to the plan is suggested, supporters instinctively attack the motives of those suggesting the alternative. Whether or not the alternative would do a better job of promoting integration is largely irrelevant.

Likewise, these people admire the school board members who loudly demand more money from Wisconsin, even though the results have been nil--and will continue to be in the present financial climate. Milwaukee School Board meetings always attracted a disproportionate number of people demanding the board prove its concern for children by taking some action that had no chance of success.

Watching the debate last night, I was struck that George Bush had adopted this liberal mindset. The president talks about his good intentions, firmness, etc., as if those justify the lack of a well thought out plan for success. Confirming their belief that intentions are all that count, Michael Moore-type liberals construct elaborate conspiracy theories about Bush's evil motivations for the invasion. I think a more plausible explanation is that a sincere conviction in the rightness of one's intentions can lead to a simplistic view of the world, ignoring information that does not fit that view.