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Bush on Capitol Hill The Face is Familiar, but...By Rick Horowitz The thing about lunch is that it's more than about the lunch. It's about: the relationship. Don't believe me? Then consider, if you will, a recent midday repast held between a rather prominent gentleman of our acquaintance, whom we'll identify only as "GWB," and a group of his colleagues we'll call "GOP." It did not go well. These are people, mind you, who've known each other for years. Who tend to see the world in similar ways. Who are, in most respects, philosophical soul mates. And yet... And yet this recent get-together was, by all accounts, a thoroughly excruciating experience. Tensions were never far from the surface, and whatever hopes the diners had of finding common ground on an issue of significance to all of them proved sadly unattainable.
The clock can't be reset, of course, or the bell unrung. Still, it seems reasonable to wonder whether, when "GWB" journeyed to "Capitol Hill" to dine with "GOP," the result might have been different had all involved thought beyond the lunch itself and remembered: The relationship. Let's consider the situation, first, from "GWB"'s perspective. "GWB" is a powerful and busy man. In recent months, he's also been a somewhat frustrated man, as several of the largest enterprises with which he's been involved have become quite troublesome. He is aware, as all men in his position are, of the passage of time and the fleeting nature of power. He is hungry -- some would say desperate -- for some sort of victory, some lasting achievement he can point to with pride as the years go by. A legacy of sorts. And for a moment, at least, such an achievement seems within his grasp. A delicate compromise has been forged on an issue of great importance. But then (and for reasons that need not concern us here), this delicate compromise begins to unravel, and "GWB" is obliged to reach out for help. He turns, as he has always turned in times of trouble, to "GOP." He is accustomed to getting whatever he needs from "GOP." He's in for a big surprise. He'll be no better off at the end of this lunch than he was at its start. But is "GOP" being unreasonable here? Before we answer, let's consider the same situation from "GOP"'s perspective. Set aside for the moment the genuine policy differences that exist on this issue between "GWB" and many members of "GOP." Set aside, too, their very different political needs. Many of "GOP"'s members will have to face the voters again; "GWB," by contrast, has only the judgment of history to contend with. Important considerations, these. But what about this? This is the first time "GWB" has journeyed to "Capitol Hill" to have lunch with "GOP" in more than five years! In the list of slights and oversights, real or imagined, that often accumulates between colleagues at opposite ends of "Pennsylvania Avenue," would something like a five-year lunch gap not rise to the very top? "He only visits when he wants something!" might well be the thought foremost in "GOP" minds. "The rest of the time, he just takes us for granted!" Can you really blame "GOP" if it thinks this way? If it acts accordingly? A casual lunch on a regular basis can be a wonderful opportunity to socialize, to take each other's "pulse," to forge stronger bonds that may ultimately be useful to all the participants. But a lunch that's less common than a leap year, and that comes with an agenda, is anything but "social." And that can have consequences -- as "GWB" is now discovering. Are there people who've fallen off your lunch calendar? A word to the wise... Posted 6/17/07. Get
the advice you need right here at "Rick's"!
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Rick Horowitz
