Actions, Not Words

Just yesterday, Smirk said something that shocked the boots off a lot of people in this country, and maybe outside our borders too. He uttered the "R" word. Yep, Bush is actually gonna take some responsibility.

Or maybe not. What he said exactly was, "To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." [emphasis mine]

He's not really taking responsibility-- at least not fully. It all depends on the "extent." It's parsing words all over again-- what the definition of "is" is, and all that. Someone more mature and responsible might have said something like this: "I take full responsibility for the failure of the federal government to respond to Hurricane Katrina." It minces no words, leaves no wiggle room, and is something a man would do-- stand up and take it on the chin when he knows he's to blame. Not Smirk.

So now the Corporate Media will probably move on to something else- after all, he took responsibility! Well, hold on one minute... there's all these promises, all these words. I'd rather see what *actions* Smirk, Scowl, & Co. take, not just their empty words. Anyone can say a nice, flowing sentence written by ghostwriters and speechwriting hacks. It takes a real leader to put some action, some force, behind flowery phrases. So if you'll forgive me, I think I'll reserve judgment until I see what this gummint does. So far the last four-some years, I haven't been too impressed.

As for Smirk himself, let's check his record thus far. Has he taken responsibility for Iraq, the Downing Street Memo, and all of his hyping in the pre-war months? Nope. Enron and Kenny Boy? Nope. Federal budget deficit (a surplus he squandered- can't blame this one on Clinton, people!)? Nope. The abuse at Abu Ghraib, and the circumventing of the Geneva Convention at Guantanamo Bay? Nope. Misleading us on WMDs? Nope. The Patriot Act and its weakening of constitutional protections? Nope. The Valerie Plame leak? Nope. No-bid contracts for companies like Halliburton? Nope. Lots more stuff too... but of course, it's nothing he needs to apologize for, or take responsibility. This is a man, who, during the debates, couldn't think of any mistakes he'd made during his time in the Oval Office. I'm not anywhere near Washington, don't have any connections or particular influence; not a journalist, etc., yet I just came up with several. Makes you wonder.

So at this point, he's sort of taken responsibility. For me, I'll wait and see: Actions, not words, are the hallmark of responsibility, whether you're sitting on Air Force One, in a relationship, managing a Fortune 500 company, going to school, or in any type of job or duty, really. Takes no energy to open your mouth or sign with your hands; takes a lot more to accomplish something lasting.