The Bush administration's response to Sept. 11 and the corporate scandals will define its legacy. And the legacy of the Bush administration will be the legacy of missed opportunities.
The monumental outpouring of sympathy and support that the world professed to the United States on Sept. 11 signaled a potential for international cooperation that is unmatched in recent history. The Bush administration, however, did not channel that potential toward marshaling the world's resources to address the myriad crises around the world. Rather, the administration mobilized the world's resources toward one thing, mainly: war. Sept. 11 was a missed opportunity for progress on a host of international issues — environmental pollution, human rights and global courts of law, to name a few. Since Sept. 11, the administration has spoiled relations with allies and partners around the world, making cooperation on these and other issues more difficult.
And in the wake of the corporate scandals that broke investors' trust in the business world, the Bush administration has shamelessly blocked the appointment of John Briggs to head the accounting oversight board, appointing instead former FBI and CIA director William Webster. Briggs was intent on reform, and Securities and Exchange Commissioner Harvey Pitt caved under pressure from the accounting lobby and selected a more benign chief in Webster. This is not just a missed opportunity to restore investor confidence — Pitt's kowtowing to industry pressure degrades the entire administration.
But opportunities are being missed left as well as right. Perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of the past year has been the failure of Democrats to condemn openly the failures of the Bush administration. In this week's elections, races seem to have been decided more on local issues than national issues. Given the gravity of the critical national issues at stake — including the country's economic woes, the War on Terrorism, and the likely war with Iraq — this election should have been about national issues. There is an important reason it was not: Democrats did not convey the urgency and gravity of these issues — and failed to speak out against the failures of the War on Terrorism.
Afghanistan is in chaos and terrorist groups are once again convening there, assassination attempts are not uncommon, and the country recently regained its place atop the list of worldwide producers of illicit opium. The Bush administration has soured relations with allies and partners around the world on a host of international issues, and is now hurling our country toward a war nearly all the world opposes. The administration has failed to secure the passage of the Homeland Security bill, and the CIA reports our country is as vulnerable to terrorist attack as it was before Sept. 11. Can Republicans really claim the War on Terrorism at home or abroad has been successful?
Democrats are afraid to challenge the administration because they do not want to appear unpatriotic, and they are afraid to challenge the administration on the war because they do not want to oppose another Gulf War that turns out to be painless. But Democrats must summon the courage to attack the administration on all the policies they know are wrong, but have been unwilling to criticize publicly. They must summon the political courage that the moment demands, and seize the opportunity to speak out against all the missed opportunities of the past two years.
Adam Frankel is a Wilson School major from New York, N.Y. He can be reached afrankel@princeton.edu
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