I don't see ineptness. I see up to the present, more or less complete success in achieving what they want and blocking what they don't want. The only ineptness I know of is the failure to pass the bill screwing credit-card debtors. Carrol
--------
Well, that's Congress. I was talking about the cabinet. The question is what does the Bush administration want, and they want nothing--except maybe some money for themselves, keep from being indicted, and get to the next election. 911 gave them something to worry about and there was a flurry of activity. But all of it amounted to giving themselves more power with fewer legal snags.
At first I thought these 911 reactions, especially the weakening of whole swaths of civil rights had some dark mission. Now, I don't think so. DoJ just didn't want to be bothered with legal niceties, developing a thorough investigation, assembling evidence and suspects, going to court, arguing, making cases, or planning out a coordinated security system with state level law enforcement, or working intelligently with international bodies and other countries. All that is just too much work, and those in power in the US simply don't understand any of that or the need, or even grasp that tangible security and national interest alliances are essential.
Those in power don't understand any of that, because they essentially don't understand government. Rather they don't understand the difference between managing a corporation under a down sizing regime and coordinating a vast system of executive agencies to follow concerted policy goals that all have long and independently established histories.
The essential problem the righwing corporate hacks that compose the administration now face is that they have to produce government policies and develop strategies to carry them out. And they can't do it. They have all taken office essentially opposed to government activities and they always imagined that their jobs would be to dismantle government by starving it to death. After 911 they were faced with producing a positive response through government action, and they were at a complete loss. Their only tangible response was to kludge together a half-assed police state on paper and bomb the rubble in Afghanistan.
Luckily for them, there are a whole circus of corporate and empire building think tank hacks like them around to tell them what to do next. Unfortunately each of these has its own policy goals, so when several are enlisted to put together a package, it looks like a meaningless collage---because it is a meaningless collage.
The good news is they're stupid and inept. The bad news is they're stupid and mean.
Chuck Grimes