Bush Has No Fear

There's no fear in George Bush. Many an attempt was made during the campaign to tie his National Guard Service to a fear of serving in Vietnam. Advocates of that position were clearly misguided.

Charles Krauthammer talks today in Time Magazine about why Bush has nothing to fear in his second term in office. Simply put, he has nothing to lose. When his term ends in 2009 the Bush Administration will cease to exist, and Dick Cheney will not be running for the top job. Consequently, Bush does not have to worry about protecting his Vice President from criticism or tough political choices. He's pretty much free to pursue any programs or plans he wants, and to heck with the opposition. Some people would consider this president to be a "lame duck". Just watch Bush work - this duck ain't lame.

Bush also showed his fearlessness this past weekend during a trip to South America. At an event in Chile, the president experienced a little role reversal and he came to the aid of his top secret service agent:

Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Bush arrived at 8 p.m. local time yesterday at the Estacion Mapocho Cultural Center for the official dinner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

After the first couple posed for photos with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his wife, the four entered the doorway with a line of Chilean security guards and uniformed police closing quickly behind him.

The president's lead agent approached the line of men as quickly as it closed and demanded to be allowed through. Within a few seconds, the confrontation began to escalate with voices being raised and shoving in all directions.

"You're not stopping me! You're not stopping me!" yelled the agent, as captured by several television cameras. "I'm with the president."

During the fracas, another Secret Service agent was roughly pulled from the tumult and pushed against a concrete wall by Chilean security…

Mr. Bush calmly turned right as the other three continued on and inserted himself into the fight. The president reached over two rows of Chilean security guards, grabbed his lead agent by the shoulder of his suit jacket and began to pull…

A few Chilean guards turned their heads and noticed that the arm draped over their shoulders was that of the president, and the line softened. Mr. Bush pulled his agent through, who was heard to say, "Get your hands off me" as he passed roughly through the doorway.

Mr. Bush then adjusted his shirt cuff and said something to the first dignitary he passed as a grin crossed his face.

According to Secret Service sources, the man Mr. Bush pulled through is a high-level agent and one of the president's personal favorites…

Read the whole story here.

I can't help but think about the comparisons of what Kerry might have done in the same situation. Would Kerry have cursed at the agent, as he did during a skiing trip many months ago? Would he have just given in to the Chilean security and left his agent in their hands? I just can't imagine Kerry wading into a fight and coming to the aid of one of his agents.