The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, August 22, 1999

Just Say Maybe
August 22, 1999
LIBERTIES / By MAUREEN DOWD
Just Say Maybe
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get no kick from writing about cocaine.
But the press is not out of bounds here. Whatever W. did in the past, he has
made his own white mischief in the present.
The problem lies in George Bush's packaging of his myth. W. understands that
the arc of a Presidential campaign follows the arc of a heroic adventure. The
candidate must slay the dragon or the giant.
As Joseph Campbell wrote: "A hero ventures forth from the world of common
day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are there encountered
and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious
adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
John F. Kennedy, Bob Dole, President Bush and John McCain offered traditional
conquests. They fought real enemies in war.
But boomers like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush who avoided Vietnam
needed to create domestic dragons and internal giants to kill. Mr. Clinton
dramatized his teen-age confrontation with his alcoholic, abusive stepfather.
Yuppie candidates play up painful odysseys of self-discovery. They slay the
Gorgon of addiction and the Hydra of self-indulgence. They present themselves
as redeemed, reborn (or born again) with the Arthurian virtues -- temperance,
loyalty, courage.
W.'s myth (potent because it offers the classic plot line of succeeding his father
as ruler) has been much written about of late: He was, as his cousin John Ellis
said, "on the road to nowhere at age 40." In 1985, he had a serious talk with Billy
Graham at Kennebunkport. He quit drinking, drifting, smoking and chewing
tobacco and became a disciplined, Bible-reading leader who "accepted Christ."
W. is perfectly content when the press hews to this story line: hothead and
goof-off metamorphoses into Presidential timber.
He'll talk about overcoming alcohol. He'll talk with pride about his faithfulness
to his wife because it offers a positive contrast with Bill Clinton. Other
"mistakes" are declared off limits.
But as in "Fantasia," once the demons are unleashed it's hard to contain them.
When you pick and choose which dragons you've slain, you shouldn't be
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