Fruits of Cronyism

Quotations from adjacent stories in today's New York Times:

F.B.I. memoradums portray abuse of prisoners by American military personnel in Iraq that included detainees' being beaten and choked and having lit cigarettes placed in their ears, according to newly released government documents. The documents [were] released Monday in connection with a lawsuit accusing the government of being complicit in torture . . .

"Listen, I know Secretary Rumsfeld's heart. . . I have heard the anguish in his voice and seen his eyes when we talk about, you know, the danger in Iraq and the fact that youngsters are over there in harm's way. And he's a good decent man. He's a caring fellow."

Our president grew up in a family deeply enmeshed in our nation's political and economic power structure. As many journalists and biographers have noted, the core value taught in the Bush family is personal loyalty. Thus, the present administration is a kind of apotheosis of cronyism.

Unfortunately, the moral compass provided by cronyism is deeply flawed. President Bush believes--sincerely, I think--that what matters most about Donald Rumsfeld is whether he is "a good person." And Bush judges the "goodness" of a person by how he acts and talks around Bush. Bush looks into a person's eyes and judges his "soul" by what he sees there. And having made that judgment, he will not allow it to be shaken--after all, personal loyalty is a two-way street.

However, a more meaningful way to judge a public servant would be to examine the wisdom of the policies he establishes, the kinds of government actions he supports or permits, and the long-term effects of his administration on the people he is supposed to serve.

These are the standards by which history will ultimately judge both Rumsfeld and Bush--not by whether they are likable, "decent," "caring" fellows who talk in a kindly way about the people whose lives they are ruining for no good reason.