Political landscape in the United States is governed by rules that mix ethics, cruelty, pragmatism, idealism and cynicism, says Boris Makarenko.
Photo: Dmitry Lebedev
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Justice for the Collective Conscience
The Price of the Question
It’s tough to say whether the CIA has the right to destroy taped interrogations of terror suspects. The malice of CIA people and, what is more, the country’s leadership is practically impossible to prove. Veteran of American politics Sen. Edward Kennedy and his colleagues know it perfectly well. Then why did they get a grip on this case lending an increasing political value to it?
Political competition in the United States works under the rules that combine ethics, cruelty, pragmatism, idealism and cynicism. Monicagate, which drew Bill Clinton close to impeachment, was based on accusing the president of breaching moral norms but a large part of the society was also aware that the case was not big enough to oust the president who had been pretty successful on the whole.
President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are not likely to move close to impeachment but the administration’s reputation and standing had already been badly damaged. Their foreign policy was tainted with a string of scandals including prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib, the disclosure of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, prolonged custody of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay or trampling on the secret of correspondence. All these things have compromised America in the eyes of the world community.
They also had another side to them. The democratic society in the United States will not tolerate something that undermines the basics of their political culture. That is why the investigations into all of these cases were initiated by American themselves – politicians, media, and grass roots. Damning verdicts were passed by American courts. Those who held accountable the violators of law and ethics were keenly aware that these facts inflicted damage on their country’s reputation. But they could not have done otherwise. They did it not only to create problems for the White House. The politicians have always striven to finally discredit the course of neo-conservatives in the Republican party. Others wanted to condemn the goal justifies the means logic since such an approach jeopardize the foundation of democracy.
The Bush administration has one more year in office. The Democrats and Republicans may have different ideas of who should occupy the White House next but they all want Messrs. Bush and Cheney with their service record to close to this page of history. As soon as it happens, a striving to prosecute them will wane. Everyone will just exhale with collective relief. They will try to leave behind not only unpopular figures but their means and deeds as well.
Kant noted that democracy is not built by angels but it is built by demons aware of consequences of their actions. Huntington added that democracy is not a guarantee to solve all the problems but an opportunity to oust those who failed in their leadership roles. Similarly, an increasing number of Americans realize that too many problems will be left unsolved if the incumbent leaders are still in power.
Boris Makarenko, first deputy director general of the Center for Political Technologies
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 10, 2007
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