How did Geroge W. Bush — a man born into wealth and power — become the Worst President Ever? One theory is, One theory: his father’s shoes were too big:

As with many other aspects of the president’s sometimes odd behavior, the root of this new self-subverting plan [to escalate the war in Iraq] lies … in a psychological twist that begins with his long and well-documented history of failure (and his sense of his own failure) within his family of origin.

Where his father was a standout as a scholar, athlete and businessman, the son, following with remarkable fixedness in his father’s footsteps, stumbled repeatedly. In November 2006, the father’s emissary, James A. Baker III, co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, came to deliver what must have been a familiar verdict: “The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating.” Read, Son, once again you failed.

To protect his psyche against humiliating feelings – inadequacy, isolation, incompetence, guilt – Bush has developed during his life several defenses that suppress, disguise and deflect those feelings. These defenses have included alcoholism, clownish behavior, emotional bullying, and Christian salvation. Six years ago, Bush found what must seem to him the near-perfect defense (though it was also a trap): The “presidential defense” allows him to avoid any feelings of humiliation by presenting himself as the plain-spoken, divinely inspired “decider” whose choices can’t be seriously challenged as incompetent or inadequate, because only distant history (or a guiding Divinity) can judge a president’s actions.

But Bush’s lifelong feelings of inadequacy clearly haven’t gone away. They appear in his nervous laugh and awkward smile – the smile of a man who seems not quite certain of himself but is intent on convincing you that “there’s no doubt in my mind” (a favorite phrase).

He constantly reminds us — and himself — that he is president. “I am the decider,” he says one day. “I am the decision maker,” he says another time. His mountain bike bears a presidential seal.

There is another layer to this father and son saga. George H.W. Bush also grew up in the shadow of famous father,Prescott Bush, a U.S. senator from Connecticut and a Wall Street Banker.

As a young man, George the elder, used his family connections — and, to be fair, a heroic stint in World War II — to get elected to two terms in the U.S. House, and then to move up the ranks from UN ambassador to head of the Republican National Committee to ambassador to China to director of the CIA to vice president of the United States.

The current president had all the advanatages of his father — money, the family name and a sense of entitlement. What he lacked was a personality suited for public life, and the intelligence to understand he should have followed other pursuits.

As a result, the younger Bush’s reach has exceeded his grasp to such a degree that tremendous damage has been done to the country. The extent of the damage remains to be seen. But let’s just hope we’re at the end of the last chapter of the Bush family drama that will be played out on the world stage.

H/t Judy

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