The Trouble With Loyalty

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, in a piece in The Washington Post that he adapted from his book, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," (Knopf 2006) explores how the missteps and huge errors made in Iraq have largely been due to the selection of personnel based on loyalty to President Bush vs. experience and qualifications.

"...To recruit the people he wanted, [Jim] O'Beirne ['a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts'] sought résumés from the offices of Republican congressmen, conservative think tanks and GOP activists. He discarded applications from those his staff deemed ideologically suspect, even if the applicants possessed Arabic language skills or postwar rebuilding experience..."

It has been apparent, almost from the beginning of Bush's presidency, that he values loyalty above all else. Condoleeza Rice, his former national security advisor is a prime example. Although arguably qualified for the position, she reached it after Colin Powell, one of the finest military minds and men to serve our country, left the administration after being marginalized because he was first loyal to the United States, not to G. W. Bush.

And there is the problem with loyalty. President Bush needs and wants people to be, first and foremost, loyal to him. But where does that leave the United States? Effectively without a leader. Why? Because the president needs to be loyal to America, and remember that he is elected by and for the people.

I like to joke that he's not an American, he's a Texan. But seriously, he seems to not understand what it means to be in public service, and has surrounded himself with people who are there to serve the man, not the presidency.

Bill Clinton understands it. Al Gore and John Kerry understand it. Ronald Reagan even understood it. John McCain, Bob Dole, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, and Arlen Specter get it. Abraham Lincoln, John Adams, George Washington, FDR, Theodore Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams, and John Kennedy understood.

The first loyalty of the public servants must be to the nation, not to the person in office. The presidency must be treated with respect and humility by the officeholder first, who in turn demands respect for the office in all who serve it.

No wonder the Katrina aftermath and the Iraq war is such a debacle. No wonder, five years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large. We are being led by a man who has placed his personal agenda way above national sovereigncy.

Perhaps the election this November will replace the president's enablers in Congress with people who are determined to return this nation to greatness by returning its people to greatness.

Perhaps our president simply needs to be reminded that he is a citizen, elected to serve the citizens.