Accepting Loss

Breaking up is so hard to do.

Some of us are destined to love forever anyone we ever loved. It's the way we are.

For us it is easy to understand Mr. Bush's grief at seeing the world he created in Iraq now judged worse than Iraq under Saddam Hussein, at seeing his loyalty to his generals not rewarded by their competence, at seeing history already beginning to dissect his mental processes and failing to glorify his heroism. The poor man had such hopes.

He cannot quite realize that it is all over but the deconstruction.

Sometimes relationships get like that. Stalemated.

Neither party can make a move. Anything you say gets you in deeper. You can't let yourself leave the relationship, because you don't want to take a loss.

Refusing to accept a loss keeps you in the game and losing more.

He cannot quite realize that the game plan is to let him live out his two more years in the presidency while that institution itself is carved back down to a manageable size. By being in the presidency, he will be living proof that it needs to be controlled.

The power of the office will shrink to match his competence.