Fear-mongering as a Political Strategy

In his NY Times column this morning Paul Krugman invites readers to think about this:

Today, many of the men who hope to be the next president — including all of the candidates with a significant chance of receiving the Republican nomination — have made unreasoning, unjustified terror the centerpiece of their
campaigns.

Krugman reminds us that post 9/11, the Bush Administration adopted fear-mongering as a political strategy, and he goes on to say:

Most Americans have now regained their balance. But the Republican base, which lapped up the administration’s rhetoric about the axis of evil and the war on terror, remains infected by the fear the Bushies stirred up — perhaps because fear of terrorists maps so easily into the base’s older fears, including fear of dark-skinned people in general.

And the base is looking for a candidate who shares this fear.

I'm thinking this morning that what all Americans need to watch out for in the coming presidential election is replacing George W. Bush with another empty suit incapable of thoughtful, reasoned leadership who relies on fear-mongering to get his way.

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