Dec. 20, 2006
 
Editorial: Bush: The Consequences of Betting the Farm
 
As has often been said of President George W. Bush, he "bet the farm," indeed his entire presidency, on the war in Iraq. But like a gambler who was just sure that he had a winning hand, he can't accept the loss and tries to keep playing--but now with other people's chips.
 
President Bush has announced his intention of upping the ante in Iraq by supplementing the current American deployment there by 30,000 troops, mostly Army and Marines. On one hand, if the forces there are as stressed as we all have heard, some reinforcment might be at least of some help.
 
Unfortunately, the President is now the equivalent of an entrepreneur going back to his banker friends for yet another loan for his "great idea." But if the bankers have any self-respect and money sense, they are not about to throw more money out the window, especially if their current investment has gone sour.
 
The American people have just about had it with President Bush when it comes to Iraq, as easily seen in the latest Congressional elections. The President even lost one of the Houses of Congress over his policy.
 
And now he wants still more troops?
 
The key problem with this presidency is the Chief Executive's inability to sell his policies to the nation, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. He wants us to take his word on it, and when we do and it blows up in all of our faces, he then tells us to trust him again.
 
If President Bush could for once tell us convincingly why this mission is so important and then show us how this Iraq War can be won, then maybe he could persuade just enough Americans to go along--one more time.
 
Both those possibilities--Bush's persuasive ability and our being able to prevail in Iraq--seem very remote. We wish that it were not so, but wars with good prospects eventually turn a corner that we have not yet seen.
 
Bush's former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, doesn't see that corner being turned. Even Bush's new Secretary of Defense, former CIA Director Bob Gates, doesn't seem to see it.
 
A graceful exit over a period of months will claim enough American lives. But ramping up the troop numbers, especially if there is no reason to believe that it will change the outcome much, appears to be a deadly case of self-delusion.
 
We doubt that the continuation of this Executive Branch malady will go over well with an already skeptical American public.