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Political Analysts Talk Of War
Visiting campus before bombs began raining on Afghanistan, political commentators Mark Shields and Paul Gigot, co-hosts of “Political Wrap” on the Public Broadcasting System’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, spoke of a “sea-change” in the American psyche that was bracing for war.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my lifetime,” Gigot declared to an overflowing crowd, referring to galvanized public opinion in support of a president whose legal claim to the office had been challenged just a few short months earlier. After the attacks in New York and Washington, DC, George W. Bush rallied Americans to stand united against terrorism, and to bring those responsible to justice. His approval rating in late September was an astonishing 89%.
“There are two psychological changes in effect here,” he said. “One is the view of government. The majority of the public now say they trust the government to do the right thing. The second question is whether the people are willing to accept casualties. That has changed too, with 6,000 casualties in these attacks. As long as the leadership remains focused, America has shown that we’ll do what it takes, that sacrifices are worth making.”
Gigot and Mark Shields were the guests of the Richard Harwood Lecture Series in American Journalism, established to honor the distinguished career of the late Washington Post columnist and ombudsman. Shields prefaced his remarks by paying tribute to Dick Harwood as a “great patriot as well as a great journalist.” Harwood, a U.S. Marine in the Pacific during World War II, saw battle during some of the bloodiest campaigns of that war.
On the current political front, George W. Bush is treading uncharted waters, Shields said, but is unwittingly making good on a campaign promise to bring a new tone to Washington. The presidency is stronger than ever. “The politics of the Northeast have changed,” he said. “There is no greater need for federal government than in times of crisis. When Americans are concerned for the safety of their loved ones, anti-government rhetoric is old-fashioned.”
What is not out of fashion is the importance of a strong economy, Gigot noted. And if a bad economy is coupled with the perception of elitism in any call up to arms, public perception of this war could turn sour, Shields warned.
“The question of sacrifice is essential. When I realized I was going to be drafted [for the war in Vietnam], I enlisted in the Marines,” he recalled. “When kids started getting pulled out of colleges, it became a national issue. America will only bear sacrifice when the elites are also bearing sacrifice. That is the test of any president’s leadership.”
The two reiterated Bush’s warnings that America is in this for the long haul. Gigot likened September 11, 2001 to the start of the Cold War, a 40-year battle against a global foe. This calls for rethinking the military, rebuilding an intelligence community and recognizing the importance of foreign affairs, to which the American people have been largely indifferent until now.
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