comment34

Issue #44

Last Update March 2, 2006

Commentary The next president, whether it be President Bush or Senator Kerry, will have to deal with a reality not often in evidence during the campaign period. That reality includes a faltering, unbalanced economy, a foreign policy vacuum and mounting international fear and dislike of the US, environmental changes that are man-made and accelerating, and mounting health issues that range from medical care coverage to drug-resistant diseases and inefficiencies in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ideological blinders will be a prescription for bad policy and worse outcomes. If President Bush wins, a continuation of his “reality is what I say it is” stance will serve him and the nation poorly. If Senator Kerry wins, vacillation and me-tooism will not meet the requirements that reality will impose. A grounding in the world as it is will be essential for Congress as well; too often both houses have been willing to accept the Administration's world-view as a given instead of questioning that world-view's basis.

Reality TV is a complete misnomer. The programs aired under that heading are downright surreal. Reality governance had better not be the political equivalent of reality TV.

A number of bodies have been created to advise the President and Congress as to the facts in many areas. These include the GAO, the Council of Economic Advisors, and various science bodies inside and independent of government. One measure of how grounded in fact the next Administration is will be to notice whether the recommendations of these bodies are being Bowdlerized or suppressed. Reports from our security organs, the CIA, the NSA and the FBI have been treated cavalierly in the past, rewritten to conform to ideology or with important facts removed. This will have to stop no matter who wins the election if our security is not to be compromised.

We wish the next President well, for the sake of the nation, but our job will be to point out occasions when the President departs from or ignores reality, and make sure the public has the opportunity to bring him back to the real world. Only thus can our country remain prosperous, free and safe.