George W. Bush, Dumb Like a Fox

Bismarck was a master of strategy and deception, even in the beginning of his career when he was an ambitious 35-year-old ultra-loyalist deputy in the Prussian parliament of 1850.

Early in his career he set his ambition toward three goals: power, a united Germany under Prussian rule, and a war to defeat and humiliate Austria. He hated the Austrians, who had kept the Germans weak and divided.

The young Bismarck was a former soldier and a passionate patriot who reveled in the glory of warfare. There was a great debate in the Prussian parliament in 1850 regarding unification of the different German states into one Germany. This also entailed declaring war on Austria, which had threatened to destroy the Germans if they ever tried to unite.

Favoring war was Prince William, who was next in line to be the Prussian king, most members of the Prussian parliament, and the German people.

Only King Frederick William IV and his ministers wanted to avoid war and favored appeasing the powerful Austrians. So it seemed to be a great political risk to align with the unpopular minority position, especially for a celebrated war proponent.

Imagine the shock and disbelief of the Germans when war hawk Otto von Bismarck stood on the floor of parliament and gave the most convincing speech against the war, during the height of war fever.

"Woe unto the statesman who makes war without a reason that will still be valid when the war is over," said Bismarck. "Will you then have the courage to turn to the peasant contemplating the ashes of his farm, to the man who has been crippled, to the father who has lost his children?" Bismarck continued, even praising Austria and defending her actions.

Not only did this speech go against everything Bismarck had ever stated, but he also previously would have roundly criticized anyone who dared defend the actions of Austria.

His speech had a profound effect on the members of parliament. Many confused members changed their votes. King Frederick and his ministers won and war was avoided.

Weeks later a grateful King Frederick made Bismarck a cabinet minister. A few years later Bismarck became the Prussian premier, a position in which he was able to build up the military and lead his country and peace-loving king into a war that crushed Austria and established the strong German Empire with himself as the Prussian leader.

He had achieved all of his goals.

Bismarck's speech before the parliament in 1850 was a calculated plan to keep his opponents off balance as to his real intentions, thereby leaving them defenseless and clueless to his ultimate goals, allowing him to achieve power, unity and war.

Bismarck wanted war, but he sensed the Prussian army had not kept up with the other European armies. Austria's army could defeat them, sealing their future with disastrous results. Also, if Bismarck supported a war that was lost, it would have diminished the public's faith in his leadership, ruining his career and future.

Bismarck wanted power, but if he had tried to trade his opposition to war with the king in exchange for a cabinet position, he would have revealed his overwhelming ambition to the king, who would have doubted his sincerity and withheld the continuing support that eventually led Bismarck to a position of real power.

Bismarck wanted a unified Germany but, if he had appealed to all the German people in an open and honest manner about the values of a united Germany, he would have made himself appear common, friendly, predictable and familiar.

Like it or not, power will not accrue to a person who cannot inspire fear or respect. As Bismarck later stated, things will happen "not by speeches and resolutions, but by iron and blood."

I wonder if Bismarck, in his pursuit of his admirable goals with cunning and stealth logic, had to endure the slings and arrows of contemporary critics who accused him of advancing the agenda of his opponents?

If he had, and I'm betting he didn't, I'm sure he would whisper in the ear of President George Bush, "Don't listen to the bastards." Bush's supporters have been questioning his loyalties.

President Bush was ELECTED, despite overwhelming and disgraceful voter fraud, by voters who put their faith in the essence of the character of the man whom they witnessed campaigning.

During the campaign Bush revealed his heart of hearts. Genuine people possessing the same honesty and integrity recognized the truthfulness of who he was and voted him into office.

We've seen enough of his actions to know he is keeping his word. He didn't sign Kyoto, he's moved stealthily on Roe and he's made other slight advances on important issues.

Signing the bogus Campaign Finance "Reform" bill was a scary and disappointing move, but remember, we are not privy to his strategy. Will he use this ploy as a temporary advantage to advance even more of our agenda? I say, go for it. He will not betray us, because he cannot. He will have no support left if he does.

Now President Bush is fighting a war against terrorists who run in packs and hide in caves like wild animals and we, his supporters, watch the idiots in Congress try to pull his Cabinet members in front of committees to talk of the war, revealing their hand and weakening their might.

Bush is fighting a war against the Democrats, who play partisan politics with our economy, our savings, our national security and every domestic issue, but we still scream if Bush strays from one promise, making his end runs around the partisan politics all the more difficult.

Bush is fighting a war against the liberal media, who think themselves superior to him, and the liberal interest groups, who hate Bush because they just can't get over the fact that they didn't steal enough votes to get Gore into the White house.

Yet we insist that Bush be free of guile at all times, or else we accuse him of abandoning his conservative roots.

Unshackle Bush's cunning. Don't beat him over his head with conservative virtue. His arena is politics; let him be political. You've voted for him, now trust him.

Dear President Bush,

I hope I haven't divulged too much information regarding your strategy. I'm confident I haven't. The mainstream press is too arrogant to pay attention to any freelance-written article, the Democrats are fast becoming the new "stupid party" and the average American is easily confounded by both truth and sarcasm. It's safe to hide out here in the open.

Keep up the dumb act; it's still very effective. I particularly like it when you add an extra syllable or two to a word ... and the media eat it up like a ham sandwich. "Sub-lim-i-nal-aly" – it cracks me up!

Remember, you have the faith, backing and trust of 85 percent of Americans. I know you won't let us down. Keep close to your heart the concept that we hold the Constitution second only to the Holy Bible. May God grant you strength, wisdom and clarity of purpose.

In parting, I ask that you never forget the immortal words of the famous raconteur Laszlo Toth, who said, "Lean to the left ... lean to the right ... stand up ... sit down ... fight, fight, fight!"

Very truly yours,