What Happened to Bush?

Published in La Repubblica
(Italy) on 8 April 2009
by Michele Serra (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Claudia Pellicano. Edited by Christie Chu.
What happened to Bush? What happened to the retired warmonger, his military lobbies, and the alleged moral, religious and political supremacy? Obama, as everybody can see, has practically overturned the foundations of the American politics: He talks about disarmament, cooperation with allies and dialogue with Islam, in the name of an America that doesn't demand - and maybe doesn't even want - the difficult and unpopular role of "owner of the world."

In the face of such a quick and overall easy end to "'Bushism," the sudden silence of the massive and powerful crowd of people who praised him (even here in Italy), and the way the snarling and vain exhibition of moral and religious supremacy by the theo-conservatives was forgotten, you need to ask yourself what kind of consistency that ideology really had. It was blown away first by the liberalism crisis, then by the believable politeness of a colored outsider who tried to explain, successfully, that pompousness and presumption aren't useful and don't succeed.

We didn't hear a single word of reflection or self-criticism (wishful thinking!) by the group, including some Italians, which led our friend Bush to catastrophe. Some of them now want to cheer for Obama just as they applauded Bush, but we don't buy their sincerity.


L'Amaca

Repubblica - 08 aprile 2009

E il Bush?, come direbbe Cipputi. Che ne e' di quel guerrafondaio in pensione, delle sue lobbies militari, della sua presunzione di primato morale, religioso, politico? Obama, con ogni evidenza, ha quasi ribaltato i presupposti della politica americana: parla di disarmo, di concertazione con gli alleati e di dialogo con l'Islam, a nome di un'America che non chiede e forse nemmeno desidera il ruolo, faticoso quanto impopolare, di padrone del mondo. Di fronte a una cancellazione cosi' rapida e in fin dei conti cosi' "facile" del bushismo, all'improvviso silenzio della sua pletorica e potente schiera di laudatori (anche qui in Italia), all'oblio caduto sulla ringhiosa e vanitosa esibizione di superiorita' morale e religiosa messa in campo dagli ideologhi teo - con, viene da chiedersi quale reale consistenza avesse quel blocco ideologico, travolto prima dalla crisi del liberismo, poi dalla convincente gentilezza di un outsider di colore che ha cercato di spiegare, con successo, che la prrepotenza e la presunzione non servono, e non vincono. Non ci sembra di aver colto mezza parola di riflessione, e magari di autocritica, da parte della claque (anche italiana) che ha accompagnato l'amico Bush alla catastrofe. Se qualcuno, adesso, ritiene di poter applaudire con le stesse mani anche l'amico Obama, sappia che non vale. - MICHELE SERRA
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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