George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 303

The Great America of George W. Bush – Episode 302 (303/377)

< Episode 302 >

Bush stood at the podium, as he often did. However, this time, given that it had only been a few days since the speech in New Orleans, and the aftermath was still chaotic, the speech was held inside the White House.

The president at the podium still possessed a massive, muscular physique, almost indistinguishable from his bodyguards. The gentle impression he’d given at the beginning of his term had completely vanished. And this imposing physique was an extremely useful tool for dominating the audience during speeches.

“Today is a sad day. The protests in New Orleans were neither protests for racial equality nor protests for social grievances.”

The opening words were a blend of subtle consolation and a clear definition of the protests’ nature. From the moment the president uttered these words, the actions of those who had broken away from Greenpeace were no longer considered environmental protests but rather anti-government demonstrations.

“They are merely obstructing the reconstruction of New Orleans to express their own grievances, destroying heavy equipment to create social unrest, and causing enormous economic damage to corporations. This is something that cannot be simply overlooked.”

Even without this statement, many people already tacitly viewed the events not as an environmental protest but as a riot. All Bush did was reinforce those existing prejudices.

“The reconstruction of New Orleans was an achievement born from the wishes, efforts, and earnest dedication of its citizens. The sweat shed by the workers is not mere labor. It is time sacrificed for the comfort and convenience of their fellow citizens.”

And the president hesitated for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he should bring up the following point publicly in his speech. But the hesitation was brief. It lasted only a breath, but that was enough time to make a decision.

A crisis is an opportunity. This was the maxim that had made Bush who he was today. There was no reason not to follow it. Besides, he couldn’t simply accept the loss and move on. So far, even when Bush had suffered setbacks, he had always used them as stepping stones to achieve gains elsewhere. This was simply a continuation of that pattern.

“Through this protest, we have clearly understood the difference between freedom and license [the difference between responsible exercise of rights and unrestrained actions]. The ’18 people’ who died in this protest are victims. Everyone is a victim, regardless of whether they are police officers or protesters. The reason I call it a sacrifice is because they are victims of reckless and violent protests. If it weren’t for the judgment of the Mayor of New Orleans and the decision of the Police Chief, it would have turned into excessive suppression, and there would have been more casualties.”

The Mayor had ordered the crackdown to take place in the middle of a bridge, which resulted in more injuries than expected, but isn’t a speech supposed to cleverly conceal some truths? And thanks to some orders, it was also true that it stayed away from excessive suppression.

“Excessive suppression with tear gas and rubber bullets may temporarily disperse the protests, but in such heightened situations, it is a bad move. They will return more violently, and then there will be more injuries and casualties.”

This was also true. If these suppression weapons had been used on the bridge, a number of people incomparable to the current situation would have been found drowned in the lake. People hit by tear gas tend to seek water, and in an environment where water is all around, there would be even less reason not to jump in.

“However, we have no authority or right to stop it. Because protests are a natural exercise of citizens’ rights.”

And Bush gripped both sides of the podium with his hands. Then, there was a cracking sound as the podium warped. Fortunately or unfortunately, this sound did not go into the microphone. However, the reporters noticed that the podium was broken. One more article to scribble in the newspaper.

“But! It is also not right that this protest was right! As many as 18 lives were lost without any meaning. The protesters’ logic was not coherent, and the city police were not provided with sufficient equipment. I won’t say that it could have been prevented. It would be a lie if I said it could have been prevented. The government has only done its best to prevent it.”

It was lengthy, but in the end, it was an excuse for the government. However, Bush was conspicuously absent from that excuse. Of course, he had no choice but to be absent.

What did Bush say in the slums where the typhoon had passed just a few days ago?

“So, as I have previously declared that I am responsible for everything that happens in the future, the protests in New Orleans will be entirely my responsibility.”

That was the end. The president turned away from the podium, which meant the speech was over.

Their feelings were all, ‘So, what are you trying to say?’ Clearly, each phrase was good, but that was all. In short, it was all show and no substance.

If we had to find any significance in this long speech, it would be to condemn Greenpeace’s reckless protests and to express sincere condolences to the police officers who were injured in the protests.

So, what are the president’s measures? Will he take responsibility for this situation? How will he take responsibility? More than that, what ‘responsibility’ are we talking about? The point of this incident, after cutting away all the complicated branches, is ultimately ‘Greenpeace marched and smashed everything.’ Isn’t that all?

What on earth is the president trying to say with this speech? The reporters had no idea how to approach this speech.

If he had always enjoyed this way of speaking, they would have just made something up or condemned it, but wasn’t he a reasonably intelligent person compared to the actions he had taken so far among the past presidents?

Although it was this president’s specialty to ignore the scripts that the best elites of this century had put together and give impromptu speeches, this time it was utterly confusing. Until now, the impromptu speeches had been quite short. That meant they were easy to understand and direct.

But this time, they couldn’t grasp the point at all. That’s why they had no idea how to write the article.

‘So, what’s the conclusion?’

Just as everyone was thinking that, the president turned back to the podium as if he had remembered something, saying, ‘Ah, that’s right.’

“The restoration schedule will remain the same, and the additional costs will be returned to society in the form of donations from my personal property.”

***

“It’s been roughly taken care of.”

Everyone listening to the speech focused on the last thing he said, but the real core was ‘freedom and license.’ The reason they thought it was empty talk was because the reporters and the lawmakers listening to it judged it to be a cliché lip service that was always repeated.

Besides, wouldn’t the scene of the president taking responsibility be more dramatic to put in the newspaper or news? And the public, or rather, the news viewers and newspaper readers, like complicated political stories, but they like the private lives of celebrities even more.

And Bush was a person who was perfectly suited to that condition of being a celebrity, and at the same time, he was a politician. He was a person who perfectly matched securing viewers and selling newspapers, and it was an appropriate action for him.

“Taken care of, you say?”

Well, the Chief of Staff, who was watching next to him while he was scribbling the speech, knew what was the core and what was the cover-up, but he was very dissatisfied. That’s because the Chief of Staff thought that this could not be called taken care of at all.

“This is not something that can be called taken care of.”

What on earth has been taken care of? Isn’t this just fueling another conflict? Right now, the focus will be on the president personally opening his wallet to take responsibility for what he said earlier, but soon, freedom and license, which have been constantly debated since the dawn of human civilization, will become a hot potato [a controversial issue].

Then, this time, a fierce protest will start on that topic. He barely managed to clean up the aftermath of the protest, and now he’s creating another protest? What kind of contradiction is this?

“It’s taken care of. What’s the problem with taking care of it with capital in a capitalist country?”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about that freedom and license. Soon it will spread to national security and individual freedom. Don’t you know that? And this is no longer a problem of the common people’s protests. It’s definitely the Republican Party’s…”

“I know, so stop it. And this is the trend of the times. It’s just slowly releasing the dam that I had blocked earlier. And it’s much better than something radical.”

Because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there was something that should have originally appeared in the world called the Terrorist Countermeasures Act. That is, the ‘Patriot Act,’ a national surveillance law that directly denies the constitution, human rights, and freedom. Bush limited it to foreigners and permanent residents, but this did not end the controversy but caused a pile of stories to be told over and over again.

The media was openly calling this law ‘Big Brother’ of 2006 [referencing the surveillance state in George Orwell’s novel *1984*]. Thanks to this, *1984* was reprinted due to unexpected popularity.

In Congress, there were many stories about expanding the scope of surveillance to include citizens. They argued that the reason why the results of this law were not significant was because there was not enough data.

Therefore, if there was more data, in other words, if they could examine every move of the citizens, they believed that the law would work properly instead of being an ineffective law like it is now, and some politicians said, ‘If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.’

In short, if you are a model citizen, there is no reason to oppose this law. This one word made the law, which was about to be forgotten in the depths of memory, finally chatter in Congress. And the politician was, needless to say, the Vice President. Richard Bruce Cheney, also known as Dick Cheney.

Of course, Bush knew that even if this law was expanded to include citizens, it would not work properly. Even if they were not satisfied with the citizens and really installed CCTV cameras everywhere in the house and room, as shown in *1984*, it would be the same.

In the end, it is people who monitor it. People have two eyes and one consciousness. Even if all the people really monitored each other’s every move, there was no way to prevent terrorism with this law.

“Anyway, this matter is already far beyond my control. Don’t mention it anymore.”

Anyway, the Chief of Staff was unhappy with this. He thought it was absurd that the Congress was already arguing about the law itself, which directly violates the constitution, but the president even joined in and made the situation worse, so he thought there was no answer.

However, when the president came out like this, there was only one thing that could come out of the mouth of the Chief of Staff, who aimed to only silently assist.

“I understand.”

That is the virtue that Andrew Card thinks of as Chief of Staff.