Whose twin? Whose brain?

Concerning the Iranian nuclear threat, Richard Perle writes in the Washington Post:

How is it that Bush, who vowed that on his watch “the worst weapons will not fall into the worst hands,” has chosen to beat such an ignominious retreat?

Proximity is critical in politics and policy. And the geography of this administration has changed. Condoleezza Rice has moved from the White House to Foggy Bottom, a mere mile or so away. What matters is not that she is further removed from the Oval Office; Rice’s influence on the president is undiminished. It is, rather, that she is now in the midst of—and increasingly represents—a diplomatic establishment that is driven to accommodate its allies even when (or, it seems, especially when) such allies counsel the appeasement of our adversaries.

The above makes me think that my nickname for Condoleezza Rice, “Bush’s twin brain,” has been incorrect. It sounds more as though Bush is Rice’s twin brain. Which is really depressing. It’s bad enough that the president is a person with such a limited intellectual grasp of things, but at least such a defect could be partly remedied by intelligent advisors. The fact that Bush’s main intellectual advisor is a smug, thoughtless mediocrity like Rice makes the situation ten times worse.

I must therefore amend my previous description of Bush’s decision-making process. First he’s told what’s what by Rice; then his instincts (which include his unconditional love for this liberal and brain-dead but cute woman) tell him to approve of what she has said; and then he validates the decision by prayer. So those are the forces now governing the most powerful country on earth: Rice’s ignorant and unreflective brain; Bush’s unreflective instincts; and Bush’s liberal evangelical-type prayer, the main function of which is to make the believer feel good about himself.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at June 25, 2006 02:55 PM | Send