Going forward
He didn't vote for George W. Bush. In fact, after much public agonizing, he voted for John Kerry and he's become an increasingly vociferous critic of the president's policies, particularly regarding Iraq, the deficit and the White House position on gay marriage. He is, of course, Andrew Sullivan. But "fair is fair" he says and here's his take on Bush II, which kicks off in style later today:
"Bush's real chance is in the Middle East. In Iraq, we are on the brink of a new era — either of democratic renewal or of catastrophic implosion. My bet is on renewal — simply because it is in the interests of the 80 percent of Iraqis who are Kurds or Shiites and because that 80 percent has a vast U.S. army to help it crush the resistance. In Afghanistan, we have the inklings of an Islamic democracy. On the West Bank, we actually may have a Palestinian leader who has democratic legitimacy and can negotiate a deal with Sharon. All these represent real achievements for Bush. Without the Afghan war, the West would still be beset by a terror factory and Afghans terrorized by theocratic fascists. Without Bush's steadfast support for Sharon, the Israeli leader would not have been able to make a move toward a secure peace. And without Bush's sane refusal to deal with the mobster, Arafat, we may never have been able to break the cycle of Palestinian terror and thuggery (we still may not). Without Bush and Blair, we would still be facing Saddam's brutal kleptocracy, enabled by a corrupt U.N., and the threat of an end to sanctions and a possible terrorist-WMD alliance. If Bush manages to nudge these hopeful developments to a more peaceful and democratic solution, then he will have pulled off a feat almost rivaling Reagan's."
Andrew Sullivan, there, eloquent, passionate and fair. The excerpt is from A Case for Hope? Bush's Second Term, which appeared in The Sunday Times on 15 January.
