Yes, but does he have hairy feet?

Andrew Sullivan recently wrote a piece that compares President Bush to Frodo from Lord of the Rings. This prompted a reader to write in and claim that Bush is really Sam Gamgee:

Bush is most clearly NOT Frodo...Frodo has the legacy of the ring thrust on him, but he lacks a great deal of strength and moral dimension...The credit for the successful completion of the quest goes to Sam, whose virtues are simple but essential: faithfulness, determination, endurance, love and hope...Bush is not Frodo. Bush is Sam.

Sheesh. Can we ease off on the hero-worship a bit? I'll stipulate that Bush has done a fine job under pressure. I don't need you to convince me that he eats his vegetables, washes behind his ears, loves puppies, and still finds time to call his mother every day. Nice boys don't always make good presidents, as Jimmy Carter demonstrated.

For a different take on the qualities that have made Bush do so well in the War on Terror, read this piece by Jacob Weisberg. If you want a more pessimistic outlook on the progress of the war, try this Robert Wright article.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 09, 2002 to Other punditry | TrackBack