Bush Claims Victory, Leaves Town

Re “President Basking in Victories,” Aug. 4: George W. Bush did not serve in Vietnam, but he has evidently learned a good lesson from that war. Sometimes it’s best to just declare a victory and pull out. So Bush was reportedly “basking” in the self-proclaimed success of his first six months in office before cutting and running to his ranch for a month’s recuperation.

Basking in what, exactly? Converting a huge surplus into an empty kitty that leaves Social Security and Medicare funds ripe for ravishing? Turning a false energy crisis into a windfall for his oil buddies? Making a tax cut that gives folks a whopping 300 bucks to slow the country’s term-long slide into a recession? Breaking his promise to revitalize the military because there’s no money left for pay raises and new equipment? Delivering regular body blows to Mother Nature by [allowing] arsenic in our drinking water and pollution in the air and telling the rest of the world to drop dead on global warming?

Perhaps Bush could better serve the country for his next half-annum by spending one month in Washington and the rest of the year relaxing in Texas.

John H. Corcoran Jr.

Calabasas

Regarding your three successive front-page stories (Aug. 3-5) claiming that Bush won big victories in the House last week: Just how low did we set expectations for this unlearned, unelected political inheritor? Should we really give him such lavish credit for squeaking flawed legislation through a lower house controlled by his own party? A House whose majority caucus is held in firm lock step by Bush’s nastily retributive fellow Texans? And one that passed legislation (on energy and HMOs) so deeply flawed that the losers will be the American people? In the Senate last spring, Bush’s extremism cost him not just Sen. Jim Jeffords’ vote but also Jeffords’ party affiliation and control of the chamber. The real report card will be due after the Senate cleans up the House’s sloppy, partisan work.

Michael Katz

Berkeley