| 1 | 1 | | Last week Mikhail Gorbachev was booed by the Moscow crowd and Margaret |
| 2 | | Thatcher lost favour with British voters. President George Bush drifts along, serenely, |
| 3 | | loved by all. |
| 2 | 4 | | Insufficient attention has been paid to the political technique which I propose to |
| 5 | | call Bushery. We ought to study it carefully because it marks a fresh insight into the |
| 6 | | nature of political success in modern democracies and has lessons to teach which go far |
| 7 | | beyond the boundaries of the United States. |
| 3 | 8 | | Bush is amiable, sharp-witted and professional, but he inspires nobody and has |
| 9 | | great difficulty in stringing together half a dozen sentences that convey any meaning to |
| 10 | | friend or foe. However, he knows how to keep the voters happy. This unusual aptitude is |
| 11 | | worth a closer look. |
| 4 | 12 | | It would be a mistake to conclude that Bushery works well in a society that has few |
| 13 | | troubles. The United States has horrendous problems in almost any sphere one cares to |
| 14 | | mention. Its cities are blighted by crime and drugs. Its educational system is a shambles, |
| 15 | | producing even more illiterates than our own. Its social services and health care do not |
| 16 | | meet public need. Moreover, Americans could lay claim to being the most democratic |
| 17 | | and demanding people on earth, quick to find fault with public authorities. So how does |
| 18 | | Bush manage to do so little and be so popular? |
| 5 | 19 | | People in the West are democratic in the sense that they value freedom of speech, |
| 20 | | thought and movement. They do not suppose that any other system is superior to |
| 21 | | democracy and have lost the taste for seeking idealistic solutions. But that is not all they |
| 22 | | have lost. They have no belief in polities as a means of changing their lives significantly, |
| 23 | | and no political optimism. Private life offers opportunities for pleasure and achievement |
| 24 | | that were unknown to any but a privileged few in the past. It is not surprising that people |
| 25 | | have turned away from the distant promise of a better life, which politics offer, to the |
| 26 | | present enjoyment of material things, which most can acquire. |
| 6 | 27 | | People are wiser than they were about the capacities of government. Most accept |
| 28 | | that what governments do is done badly. They have heard too many tales about the |
| 29 | | challenges of this century, or the next. And what does all this fine talk amount to? |
| 30 | | Usually, that the government digs its hand a little deeper into one's pocket, or places its |
| 31 | | heel a little more firmly on one's neck. |
| 7 | 32 | | Bushery has cleverly taken up these strands in public opinion and is likely to catch |
| 33 | | on throughout the West, once other politicians learn the technique. Bushery does not |
| 34 | | hurry forward to grab power and assume responsibility. It has realistically assessed what |
| 35 | | voters want from their government and concluded that its role is largely negative. When |
| 36 | | activity is called for, it should be verbal rather than administrative. A problem admitted |
| 37 | | is, to the public, a problem half solved. |
| 8 | 38 | | But if Bushery is to start an international fashion it must be grasped in all its |
| 39 | | subtlety. Bush may not be a genius, but he has mastered one operating procedure that |
| 40 | | Thatcher does not understand. Wherever he can, he delegates the government's |
| 41 | | responsibility to somebody else. |
| 9 | 42 | | Even if his motive is self-interest, Bush is doing American society a favour by |
| 43 | | forcing it to face its problems locally. Naturally the voters want peace, plenty, social |
| 44 | | harmony, a beautiful environment, splendid public services and personal fulfilment, all |
| 45 | | for next to nothing in taxes. It is a wise man who hands over power, so that people can |
| 46 | | wrestle with these problems for themselves. That is the way to an adult democracy, where |
| 47 | | people know how to make a sensible choice. |
| | | |
| | | Brian Walden in 'The Sunday Times', May 6, 1990 |
