The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, August 22 - Unauthorized ...
The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, August 22 - Unauthorized ...
The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, August 22 - Unauthorized ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Just Say Maybe<br />
<strong>August</strong> <strong>22</strong>, 1999<br />
LIBERTIES / By MAUREEN DOWD<br />
Just Say Maybe<br />
Related Articles<br />
● Op-Ed Column Archive<br />
Forum<br />
● Join a Discussion on Maureen Dowd's Columns<br />
get no kick from writing about cocaine.<br />
But the press is not out of bounds here. Whatever W. did in the past, he has<br />
made his own white mischief in the present.<br />
<strong>The</strong> problem lies in George Bush's packaging of his myth. W. understands that<br />
the arc of a Presidential campaign follows the arc of a heroic adventure. <strong>The</strong><br />
candidate must slay the dragon or the giant.<br />
As Joseph Campbell wrote: "A hero ventures forth from the world of common<br />
day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are there encountered<br />
and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious<br />
adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."<br />
John F. Kennedy, Bob Dole, President Bush and John McCain offered traditional<br />
conquests. <strong>The</strong>y fought real enemies in war.<br />
But boomers like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush who avoided Vietnam<br />
needed to create domestic dragons and internal giants to kill. Mr. Clinton<br />
dramatized his teen-age confrontation with his alcoholic, abusive stepfather.<br />
Yuppie candidates play up painful odysseys of self-discovery. <strong>The</strong>y slay the<br />
Gorgon of addiction and the Hydra of self-indulgence. <strong>The</strong>y present themselves<br />
as redeemed, reborn (or born again) with the Arthurian virtues -- temperance,<br />
loyalty, courage.<br />
W.'s myth (potent because it offers the classic plot line of succeeding his father<br />
as ruler) has been much written about of late: He was, as his cousin John Ellis<br />
said, "on the road to nowhere at age 40." In 1985, he had a serious talk with Billy<br />
Graham at Kennebunkport. He quit drinking, drifting, smoking and chewing<br />
tobacco and became a disciplined, Bible-reading leader who "accepted Christ."<br />
W. is perfectly content when the press hews to this story line: hothead and<br />
goof-off metamorphoses into Presidential timber.<br />
He'll talk about overcoming alcohol. He'll talk with pride about his faithfulness<br />
to his wife because it offers a positive contrast with Bill Clinton. Other<br />
"mistakes" are declared off limits.<br />
But as in "Fantasia," once the demons are unleashed it's hard to contain them.<br />
When you pick and choose which dragons you've slain, you shouldn't be<br />
http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/dowd/08<strong>22</strong>99dowd.html (1 of 2) [8/<strong>22</strong>/1999 9:51:17 PM]