The president who cried “wolf!”

For my conservative readers, some of whom complain about my relentless partisan liberal Bush-bashing, here’s a refreshing change of pace: some non-partisan conservative Bush-bashing. Philippe de Croy makes a sober argument, from a conservative perspective, that George W. Bush’s loss of international credibility as a result of his — shall we say creativity? — about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction would make his re-election a blow to America’s capacity to lead the world. My ignorance of diplomacy means that I can’t judge how serious an issue this is in practical terms, but I’m happy to have M. de Croy’s support for my general belief that some of Bush’s character flaws are, like some of his predecessor’s, relevant to his official performance.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com