These Days are Ours
There's this episode of Happy Days where Richie is being harrassed by some biker hooligans. One of them wants to "rumble" at Arnold's, and Richie is terrified. Fonzie gives him some sound advice on deterrence, based on the idea that a credible threat of effective retaliation can, on its own, pre-empt potential rumbles. Everyone respects and fears the Fonz, and no one would dream of messing with him. But, he asks, "have you ever, even once, seen me in a fight?" Richie considers the question and realizes, to his surprise, that the answer is no. That's the Fonzie Doctrine: act tough, everyone backs down, and all the chicks dig you.
The ne'er-do-wells show up, but when Richie attempts to put the Fonzie Doctrine into practice, it's a miserable failure. "There's one thing I forgot to tell you, Cunningham," explains the Fonz. "It doesn't work unless you've actually hit someone at some point in your life." Mere bravado, in other words, isn't always enough.
I hate to be a spoil-sport, but, Afghanistan notwithstanding, I'm still trying to figure out whether GWB is more like the Fonz or more like Richie in this allegory with regard to Iraq. I agree with most commentators that the Republican success in the mid-term elections had a lot to do with 9/11 and national defense: Bush has managed to leave the impression that he's a strong leader who will not shrink from taking action to defend this country and who is capable of dealing effectively with the Iraqi threat. (Plus, the Democrats achieved the miracle of appearing even more bumbling and ineffectual than Congressional Republicans-- but that's another story.) Anyway, he almost has me convinced, too. But there's something a little strange about the self-congratulatory line spun by hawkish Bush partisans when it comes to the elections, the UN, and Iraq. If giving Saddam one last chance to comply with a rigorous inspections regimen before forcibly disarming him or removing him from power is the way to go, and if that was the brilliant plan all along, why wasn't this ball rolling months ago? Why the delay? Surely not just to score some points against the Democrats and the French?
I think (and hope) that Michael Kelly probably had it right in his recent summary of the show so far: after months of empty, saber-rattling rhetoric and indecisiveness, the Bush administration finally "pulled its act together." And not a moment too soon.
It's not too late. (Here's how you know it's not too late: you haven't been blown up yet.) But will Saddam still try to wiggle out of it, and could Bush still let him? Mmm-hmm. Correctimundo.
Posted by Dr. Frank at November 11, 2002 07:16 AM | TrackBack