More on Bush and Reid
A quick comment on Ellick's earlier post on Reid on Bush:
This is a similarity that I've found quite striking as well. Partly for the reasons Ellick mentions, but mostly for a different one.
President Bush lives in the most insular bubble this country has ever seen. He is surrounded only by like-minded sycophants (one of whom he has now nominated to the Supreme Court) and he doesn’t have the intelligence, intellectual curiosity, or even the desire to take a critical look at reality. Be it tax cuts, Iraq, Katrina, stem cells or whatever, Bush tries to shift reality to fit his worldview, not the other way around. A recent Newsweek article by Evan Thomas illustrated Bush’s bubble well:
“Bush can be petulant about dissent; he equates disagreement with disloyalty. After five years in office, he is surrounded largely by people who agree with him. Bush can ask tough questions, but it's mostly a one-way street. Most presidents keep a devil's advocate around… How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less ‘situational awareness,’ as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace”
Unlike Bush, Reid is not unintelligent (the fact that he has been so successful as the Eagles coach while Bush has been such a dismal failure can attest to that). But he suffers from the same insular stubbornness that Bush does.
Andy Reid does not adapt well, either during a game or throughout a season.
During games, this can haunt the Eagles. For instance, in last year’s Super Bowl the Eagles got off to a strong start and seemed, if not in control, then at least in a strong position. But then the Pats adjusted, spreading out four wide receivers and picking the Eagles apart with screens to Corey Dillon. The Eagles never countered and lost.
Throughout the season, it can lead to inexplicable and frustrating decisions. Take Reid’s decision not to activate Todd France for the Raiders game. Here is how Reid explained it: “‘It's probably not the smartest move,’ Reid said of his decision not to activate another kicker. ‘I thought David was feeling better, all the reports that I got.’”
“All the reports I got?” That sounds vaguely familiar.
Even more infuriating is Reid’s reaction to McNabb’s health. The Eagles MUST have an at-least semi-healthy McNabb to succeed in the playoffs this year. We have argued that McNabb should have surgery to fix his hernia now so that he will be ready for the playoffs. Now that McNabb and Reid have ruled this out, it would be sensible to at least, one would think, try to adjust the game plan to limit McNabb’s exposure, perhaps by throwing the ball less. But when Reid was asked before the Kansas City game if he would take such a tack, his response was incredulous: "We do what we have to do to win games. If it means throwing 50 times, then you throw 50 times."
Against KC, they did throw the ball 50 times (well, 48). And they did win. But will Reid’s inflexibility win us the battle only to lose us the war in the end?
After the game, Reid said "I think the important thing is finding a way to win the football game. I really think, when it is all said and done, that people really don't care [how you do it].” Put him in a flight suit with a “Mission Accomplished” banner behind him and he’d be right at home.
This is a similarity that I've found quite striking as well. Partly for the reasons Ellick mentions, but mostly for a different one.
President Bush lives in the most insular bubble this country has ever seen. He is surrounded only by like-minded sycophants (one of whom he has now nominated to the Supreme Court) and he doesn’t have the intelligence, intellectual curiosity, or even the desire to take a critical look at reality. Be it tax cuts, Iraq, Katrina, stem cells or whatever, Bush tries to shift reality to fit his worldview, not the other way around. A recent Newsweek article by Evan Thomas illustrated Bush’s bubble well:
“Bush can be petulant about dissent; he equates disagreement with disloyalty. After five years in office, he is surrounded largely by people who agree with him. Bush can ask tough questions, but it's mostly a one-way street. Most presidents keep a devil's advocate around… How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less ‘situational awareness,’ as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace”
Unlike Bush, Reid is not unintelligent (the fact that he has been so successful as the Eagles coach while Bush has been such a dismal failure can attest to that). But he suffers from the same insular stubbornness that Bush does.
Andy Reid does not adapt well, either during a game or throughout a season.
During games, this can haunt the Eagles. For instance, in last year’s Super Bowl the Eagles got off to a strong start and seemed, if not in control, then at least in a strong position. But then the Pats adjusted, spreading out four wide receivers and picking the Eagles apart with screens to Corey Dillon. The Eagles never countered and lost.
Throughout the season, it can lead to inexplicable and frustrating decisions. Take Reid’s decision not to activate Todd France for the Raiders game. Here is how Reid explained it: “‘It's probably not the smartest move,’ Reid said of his decision not to activate another kicker. ‘I thought David was feeling better, all the reports that I got.’”
“All the reports I got?” That sounds vaguely familiar.
Even more infuriating is Reid’s reaction to McNabb’s health. The Eagles MUST have an at-least semi-healthy McNabb to succeed in the playoffs this year. We have argued that McNabb should have surgery to fix his hernia now so that he will be ready for the playoffs. Now that McNabb and Reid have ruled this out, it would be sensible to at least, one would think, try to adjust the game plan to limit McNabb’s exposure, perhaps by throwing the ball less. But when Reid was asked before the Kansas City game if he would take such a tack, his response was incredulous: "We do what we have to do to win games. If it means throwing 50 times, then you throw 50 times."
Against KC, they did throw the ball 50 times (well, 48). And they did win. But will Reid’s inflexibility win us the battle only to lose us the war in the end?
After the game, Reid said "I think the important thing is finding a way to win the football game. I really think, when it is all said and done, that people really don't care [how you do it].” Put him in a flight suit with a “Mission Accomplished” banner behind him and he’d be right at home.
posted by ahb at 11:51 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home