A question to be asked

Has any U.S. president ever committed himself this thoroughly and damaged himself so much for the sake of so egregious an idea?

- Comments -

Roger writes:

Yes, George W. Bush. His policy of trying to “democratize” ( having head counting elections in) the Mideast which so far has resulted in the creation of one terrorist state and two states based on sharia law, is at least a close second. The unrealistic democratization goals in Iraq and the failure from the beginning to forcefully stop the malevolent influence there of Iran and Syria has resulted in an unwinnable situation and a quagmire that has also thoroughly damaged this president’s support with the public.

Scott writes:

Another example would be Wilson’s vigorous campaign for US entry into the League of Nations. Anti-League Senators cautioned that the League would compromise American sovereignty. Among the American people, there was obviously no enthusiasm for further foreign entanglement in the wake of a very bloody war that brought no tangible benefits. Wilson’s marginal popularity in the wake of victory all but vanished.

I think that the League was a bad idea then, just as the UN is a bad idea today. The sovereignty arguments have come true: The US feels it can’t take defensive actions against a belligerent without getting the “say so” from the UN.

LA:

I had forgotten about that, the most famous instance in U.S. history of a president stubbornly fighting for something the country didn’t want, and refusing even a sensible compromise (i.e., consenting to remove the plank that committed the U.S. to go to war if any member nation were attacked).

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 26, 2006 11:20 PM | Send