Rummy's Memo: "Do you like me? Check yes or no"

Are we ever so unloved when we expound upon the questions of our own worth and the morality of our actions--yes, your friends will all start to tune out. Rumsfeld's memo has caused some stir this week. One side has seen it as a reflection of a self-righteous administration that is discovering that its orthodoxy does not work in the real world. The other has defended the memo as a necessary process by which human edeavors are improved, and is thus no big deal.

The latter statement is true. Growth occurs through criticism and evaluation, and those who wishes to improve themselves ought to examine their lives. But the attention paid to the memo is not merely liberals looking for any means to demean the president. Bush and his cohort have sealed themselves off from public scrutiny, ingoring the same questions as they have been posed by citizens, politicians and reporters. How many individuals asked the same questions months ago? Why were they ignored? If self-criticism is a pathway to prefection, why was it not employed at all stages of planning and executing the Iraq conflict? The flap over the memo reflects how the public has been locked out of policy making.