Bush’s ‘Trap’

With the 2010 elections over, all that is left is the gloating.
 
Former Bush White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett hardily stands up to the task. In an interview with the Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz this week, Dan admitted that the entire motivation behind the Bush tax increases was a cynical ploy to set a political “trap” for the next president.
 
“The fact that we were able to lay the trap does feel pretty good, to tell you the truth.” Bartlett told Kurtz.
 
Wow.
 

Bartlett feels pretty good. Isn’t that terrific? Here we are, dealing with the worst economy in decades, the worst deficits in history, crippling debt to competitors like China — all brought to America under President Bush’s brand of leadership and economic wisdom, and Bartlett feels pretty good about it. Heck, he’s bragging about it!
 
Hey it’s all politics right? Let’s start two wars and not pay for them, let’s drive millions of Americans out of their jobs, let’s ignore intelligence warnings about terrorist attacks while we clear brush, let’s lie to the world about WMDs so we can go to war and nation-build in Iraq and Afghanistan and send our troops over there to die, and let’s cut taxes and — most importantly — skyrocket spending so our country’s fiscal house collapses under the weight of all this long after we’ve moved out of the White House so that we can win some elections in 2010. Brilliant!
 

For those 2 million Americans who are going to lose their unemployment assistance this Christmas because of Bartlett’s genius “trap,” it must be comforting to know that Dan’s gonna sleep well and with a smirk on his face tonight. For the millions of Americans who lost their jobs while Bartlett had his in the White House, I’m sure it’s comforting to know that they were part of the plan to “trap” President Obama and the Democrats with this economic calamity.
 
As a final insult to the economic injury inflicted upon America by Dan’s “trap”, the Republicans insist the only way out of the “trap” is deficit-exploding tax breaks for the richest 1.6 percent to the tune of $800 billion. Until they get that, it’s “no” to tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and “no” to help for America’s jobless.
 
I don’t blame Dan, really. The Bush administration’s leaders are desperately looking for something to feel good about. All around them — and all around each of us — is the evidence of their abject failure to manage the economy. They were handed a strong economy and record surplus and turned it into massive unemployment and deep economic recession.  Their administration’s handling of the economy was so devastating it crippled the next administration.
 
Maybe Dan doesn’t realize it, but he’s in the trap with all of us.
 
David Di Martino is CEO of Blue Line Strategic Communications Inc. The views expressed in this blog are his and do not necessarily represent Blue Line’s. Follow David: @bluelinedd

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