A question of character

I remember Paul O'Neill telling a story about observing CEOs and how they interacted with their staff. Before he would ok a merger with that company, he wanted to see the character of the leader. If the CEO was dismissive of the staff, that was a red flag character issue. He related the story of how Bush treated Andrew Card (his chief of staff at the time) as a serf--ordering Card to fetch him some food. O'Neill recalled how distasteful that was and the lack of character it revealed in our President.

This late into such a failed Presidency, we really don't have to search for more examples, but the way the President points fingers at others is just a HUGE character flaw that I cannot believe he still has even 25% approval.

Witness last week's press conference where Bush throws Tommy Franks under the bus.

Last week, Bush rejected any blame for the chaos that ensued in Iraq after the March 2003 invasion. So whose fault was it? Bush pointed the finger at Gen. Tommy Franks, the Central Command chief at the time. "My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes," Bush said.

That's the same Tommy Franks to whom Bush awarded a Medal of Freedom in 2004.

And when virtually all of Bush military line of command, including the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed his "surge" proposal late last year, Bush responded not by listening, but by removing the top two commanders responsible for Iraq and replacing them with more amenable leaders, including Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus.

That is a lack of character.