The Trust Gap

Today's NYT editorial was one of the more forceful ones I've seen in awhile about this President.

We can't think of a president who has gone to the American people more often than George W. Bush has to ask them to forget about things like democracy, judicial process and the balance of powers — and just trust him. We also can't think of a president who has deserved that trust less.

This has been a central flaw of Mr. Bush's presidency for a long time. But last week produced a flood of evidence that vividly drove home the point.

The opinion wasn't designed to lend credence to "trust me" by this President; instead it gives evidence to the AG saying the Administration has ultimate authority whether Congress likes it, we like it, or anyone else in the world likes or not.

It concludes this way:

Like many other administrations before it, this one sometimes dissembles clumsily to avoid embarrassment. (We now know, for example, that the White House did not tell the truth about when it learned the levees in New Orleans had failed.) Spin-as-usual is one thing. Striking at the civil liberties, due process and balance of powers that are the heart of American democracy is another.

Well, many of us have known for a long time the things the Administration has been hiding, just 60 Minutes is supposed to show a segment on the billions unaccounted for by the DOD (or Halliburton, take your pick). Not news to some of us, but if it takes beating the public over the head about these things, I guess it's better than nothing.

The Trust gap in my view, is about the forgotten middle who are worried about their sons, still wanting to feel secure, but more secure about incomes in order to raise their families. Both parties are guilty for spending too much time on the civil liberties, which ARE important, but if C-SPAN callers are any indication, they are worried about our economy, national debt (because of the war) and healthcare. This is where Dems have the leadership opportunity--and to close the trust gap, if they come up with plans instead of just attacking their opponents. And they need to figure out how to get the corporate media to start discussing these issues for the viewers/readers. Rick Stein's article in the Boston Globe is a good start, but it needs to said over and over also in the LA Times, Pittsburgh Gazette, Houston Chronicle, NOLA.com, andChicago Tribune.