On May 10th, I wrote Bush dances with free people; Albright danced with Kim Jong Il<\/a>. (If you think I do not support President Bush, please READ that link).<\/p>\n Does anyone remember April and May of 2005? And the months preceeding them? The Orange Revolution<\/a>? The Arab Springtime<\/a>? The Cedar Revolution<\/a> of Lebanon \u2013 all of them seeming to have a fire lit under them, a wonderful fire of liberty. Remember Revolution Babes?<\/a><\/p>\n All around the globe, there was a spirit of something that felt a lot like the Will to Power \u2013 something that was building in momentum \u2014 like we were on the brink of something truly remarkable and historic and new.<\/p>\n Then, suddenly \u2013 poof!<\/em> \u2013 it all stopped?<\/em> <\/p>\n It all just seemed to go away, like giant foot just came down and stomped out all of those wonderful fires, and the White House seems to have just \u2014 blink<\/em>! Forgotten about it.<\/p>\n I like W a lot, but what the hell<\/em>? Could it be that the press has finally broken him, somehow, and he\u2019s afraid to make a move? <\/p>\n You know what? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n For once, I don\u2019t think this can be blamed on \u201cthe press.\u201d<\/p>\n The momentum has stopped. Everything has come to a screeching halt. Is there something he\u2019s not telling us?<\/p>\n It\u2019s very troubling. Worrying. People seem to be running out of energy here, and W is simply not rallying them \u2013 it is like he\u2019s running out the clock, and this seems to me to be a sinfully wasteful thing to do. I agreed with David Frum, yesterday<\/a>, that the WH needs to communicate more effectively about the war \u2013 about many things \u2013 but beyond all of that, there is this strange and sudden silencing of movement. I do not get it.<\/p>\n And neither, apparently does anyone else.<\/p>\n Yesterday a pal wrote me and touched on it, too, so I\u2019m not the only one who has noticed that six months ago, the world was dancing toward democracy and freedom \u2013 in places where only a few years ago the idea seemed improbable \u2013 and in short order the dancing has stopped, the photos are a dim memory, and it all seems like something that happened a long, long time ago.<\/p>\n Last night, I wrote to a very smart, very knowledgeable guy with whom I correspond (if I told you his name, you\u2019d be like, \u201cyou DO NOT correspond with him!\u201d And I\u2019d be like, \u201cuh-huh, I do!\u201d And you\u2019d be like, \u201cGet out!\u201d). I wrote to this exceedingly brilliant man, of whom I am very respectful: \u201cexplain this to me, please, because you are very smart and because I don\u2019t get it. What happened<\/em>? How did we move from such a sense of promise \u2013 just six months ago \u2013 to this sort of dreary, stagnant, nuthin\u2019 is goin\u2019 anywhere<\/em> sort of torpor? Where is the energy, where is the juice, what has happened?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n His answer: \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t like it, either.\u201d<\/p>\n Well.<\/em> If that\u2019s the case, we\u2019re really in trouble. I mean, I routinely don\u2019t know what is going on, but I\u2019m nobody and I\u2019m not especially smart. If this guy also doesn\u2019t get it . . .<\/p>\n This is what I have noticed about George W. Bush: He plays his cards close to the vest and he loves to make the other side feel that first flush of victory. He\u2019s a little cruel that way. He loves to allow the opposition to become overconfident and shrill and a little mad, he loves to make them think, \u201cwe\u2019ve GOT him,\u201d and then throw down a Royal Flush. And he always comes back from his August vacation with a surprise, with something unexpected. He\u2019s done it every year.<\/p>\n No, don\u2019t ask me to remember what each September<\/em> has brought, I can\u2019t, but I do know that every September has begun with some sort of Bushian surprise or new idea or initiative \u2013 I know it because I\u2019ve noticed<\/em> it. I may not be brilliant, but I am very<\/em> observant.<\/p>\n I have observed this poker-playing-and-September-breaking behavior of Bush in the past, so I am going to look for something fresh and new in September; I\u2019m going to be on the lookout for something \u2013 anything \u2013 that makes the bizarre, peek-a-boo-revolutions of late 2004-early 2005 make sense. I\u2019m going to be seeking out signs that this energetic president is not simply treading water, or running out the clock. The stakes are too, too high. And I simply don\u2019t believe it of him.<\/p>\n Still, it certainly does seem like there is some treading going on, right now.<\/p>\n My eyes are wide open, and my eyebrows are up. This is not the first time I have waited, with some frustration, to see President Bush make a move, but it is the first time I have been troubled in my wait.<\/p>\n I hope I see something, come September. I really hope so. I\u2019m not minimizing the enormous accomplishment that is the Iraqi constitution \u2013 I\u2019m really not. But I\u2019m gettin\u2019 antsy, Mr. President. Gettin\u2019 antsy.<\/p>\n UPDATE:<\/strong> Glenn Reynolds<\/a> has pointed out some reasons<\/a> for optimism<\/a> that I have missed<\/a> and they certainly are heartening. Powerline also has a good essay about how we got through previous wars<\/a>. Perhaps Jimmie Bise\u2019s prosposed War News Show<\/a> is what I need! <\/p>\n UPDATE II:<\/strong> Wow, when I wrote this I had no idea I was going to get flamed from all sides via my email! I\u2019ve got folks on the right castigating me for not fully supporting the president (hello \u2013 I DO \u2013 I just am wondering about this sailboat that seems to have lost its wind), or for not understanding he is tired. (Of course he is tired. But he\u2019s got miles to go before he can sleep!) and then I have the folks on the left writing to me saying \u2014 well, they\u2019re saying all manner of hateful and strange gobbledeegook but it seems to sum up this way: \u201cstay offa our side, Anchoress, we hate you,<\/em>\u201d which is fine, since I am not \u201con\u201d their side and not trying to ingratiate myself to anyone.<\/p>\n All I am saying is, I just really hope September brings some renewal of momentum. It\u2019s important. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On May 10th, I wrote Bush dances with free people; Albright danced with Kim Jong Il. (If you think I do not support President Bush, please READ that link). Does anyone remember April and May of 2005? And the months preceeding them? The Orange Revolution? The Arab Springtime? The Cedar Revolution of Lebanon \u2013 all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bush-bad"],"yoast_head":"\n