Aloofness Puts Bush on Right Side of History

What did you think of President Bush’s Waco economic forum? The media didn’t think much of it. All day Tuesday, CNBC anchors could barely report on the event without smirking. Just hours after it ended, Slate.com’s headline gibed, “Fake Forum.” The next day, the Washington Post’s “analysis” was headlined this way: “A Sunny Thing Happened at the Bush Forum / Tough Economic Issues Get Little Attention.”

The overall gist of the reportage is that Bush is so detached from ordinary Americans that his reelection-minded advisors felt they needed to stage a show to fool people into thinking he really does care.

But maybe detachment is not so bad. Maybe it’s what we need.

History proves that leaders who kept their eyes on the fundamentals of economic growth did a lot better than those who tried to micromanage every problem.

Of course, Bush’s distance extends to all aspects of his presidency, not just economics. On Aug. 4, for example, the Texan was in Kennebunkport, Maine, playing golf with his father, the former president. Reacting to news of a terror bombing in Israel, he said, “I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist attacks. Thank you.” Then he added, speaking of his golf shot, “Now watch this drive.”

Now that’s detached. And once upon a time, this style of leadership was much admired.

The French call it sang-froid--literally “cold blood,” as in, don’t get too hot about things. In 1588, the legendary English sea captain, Sir Francis Drake, was playing croquet when news came that the Spanish Armada was nearing Britain, bent on conquest and subjugation. Drake absorbed the news, then returned to his mallet, saying, “There is plenty of time to win this game, and to thrash the Spaniards too.”

Cool, indeed. Of course, what made it really cool was that Drake wrapped up his match, got on his ship and destroyed the invading fleet.

To be sure, there’s not much evidence that Bush is another Drake, but in any case that froid-y style of leadership is out of fashion. Instead of the stiff upper lip of a Winston Churchill, we seem to want the bitten lip of a Bill Clinton. Indeed, with Clinton one also got moist eyes and endless expressions of I-feel-your-pain victimologizing.

Of course, the economy boomed under Clinton, leading some to confuse good empathy with good policy. Yet the economic recovery that he rode upward through the ‘90s actually began in the second quarter of 1991, almost two years before he took office.

Moreover, if Clinton is going to be credited for the productive activity of 280 million Americans, then he must also be blamed for the corrupt activities of a corporate few, wheedling and deedling on his watch.

According to official government findings, the financial skulduggery at Adelphia, Arthur Andersen, Enron, Global Crossing, MicroStrategy, Qwest, Tyco and WorldCom began between 1997 and 1999, years before Bush took office.

It may well be proved, in fact, that such business malfeasance extended back even further, but that’s the point: Without some dramatic eruption, a president wouldn’t know about it--and couldn’t control it.

The success of the economy depends on the noninterference of politicians. That was the great insight of 18th century French economists, who saw that kings and queens weren’t helping by meddling.

So they came up with the economic equivalent of sang-froid, which is laissez faire, or “let people do as they choose.” And two centuries of economic history proves that the cool detachment of the state--leaving people the space to figure things out for themselves--is superior to warm-and-fuzzy intervening.

Bush may not know many French words or much economic history. And he’s no heroic figure. But he is correct to think that the economy grows most when the government does least. That means holding the line on taxes and spending, as he has tried to do, in spite of the critics.

So maybe it helps that his style is detached, even aloof, because it allows him to keep cool when other politicians are hot to trot out some economic snake oil.

And speaking of cool, if the president holds his next fake forum in breezy, chi-chi Kennebunkport, and not sweaty, red-necky Waco, the reporters will like him a bit more.