North Korea Accord Appears To Signal New Maturity

09/19/2005

Paul Munnis

The new accord with North Korea is welcome throughout the world as a relaxation of tension over nuclear arms. It also marks a major sea change in governance by the Bush Administration. They are to be congratulated on showing new maturity in dealing with others. For the first time in five years they have demonstrated a willingness to understand the concerns of the other side, to accept those concerns as legitimate, and to work to find a middle ground where both sides can be comfortable.

They have entered a new political phase as a result. It’s about time. They have been slow in recognizing and addressing their problems.

The Bush administration has overhauled the substance and the style of its approach to North Korea. Details of the accord are still emerging and will be reported upon as they become available. Yet what has changed is the negotiation tactics used by the U.S. and that has brought about an accord.

Officials have stopped using the accusatory language President Bush once used when he called North Korea a member of the “axis of evil” and called the nation’s leader, Kim Jong Il, “a tyrant.” Such rhetoric was sophomoric and was not conducive to serious negotiation and the negative approach invited a negative response. It served to divide the negotiators rather than to permit them to focus on mutually shared concerns and goals.

The Administration has finally shifted its focus and has worked closely with South Korea and China to address the North’s security and economic concerns and have reassured the North that the United States recognizes it as sovereign nation.

Officials relaxed their stand on the North retaining some kind of peaceful nuclear program, and offered the prospect of normalizing relations with that country.

In other words, they sought a bi-partisan solution with North Korea, a middle ground, and they respected each others interests, something the Bush Administration has been feign to do for the past five years and which has set them up for failure in almost everything that they have attempted.

This bad attitude has been the hallmark of the Bush Administration up until now and it has been the chief reason for their failure in all they have attempted.

We hope that this marks the end of the “sophomoric phase,” of governing by the Bush Administration. For the first time since they have come onto the stage they are demonstrating willingness to unite people and nations rather than to divide them. Karl Rove and his tactics of division has been the enemy of the Bush Administration and is hundreds of times more unkind to the GOP governing interests than what Democrats could ever be. The Bushies have been sabotaging themselves with what the world around them has perceived as “arrogance and insensitivity.” Democrats could rely on the Bush Administration destroying their own initiatives even before the first discussion was held. But now they are showing signs of maturity and it is welcomed.

We suspect this is the result of a hard nosed political appraisal and a consultation of what was wrong within their Administration. It appears they are now amending their management practices to recognize that one catches more flies with honey than with vinegar.

One thing that was very wrong was that Karl Rove and his wedge issues created purposeful division of all whom the Administration came into contact with. At an international, national, and diplomatic level, the Bush Administration has been like a hedge-hog, rolled into a ball, barbs bared, hurling out insults and only too willing to confront anyone having a different viewpoint. The result is that they repulsed all who came into contact with them. Ideology replaced sensitivity and substance with disastrous results for the GOP. Disagreement with others was sought rather than avoided, those differences were fostered and used to play groups people off against one another. That set up the Bush Administration for failure. Karl Rove loved it as he assumed the role of Cardinal Richelieu within the Bush Administration.

They sure did fail big time too. There is nothing that they can point to after five years of governing America that is a success story. This is the first real accomplishment in their complete period of governance and they are to be congratulated on demoting Karl Rove to an administrator role and employing new tactics that are more mature and much more proper for these difficult times.

There is a sign of new maturity now and it is welcome. It could be the start of a renaissance for the Bush Administration.

We hope so. Democrats would rather discuss real issues with the GOP if the mutual goal is to reach bi-partisan consensus. Then both sides win and we can both build upon our mutual success while the real winner is America who advances with much improved programs.