James Baker

Reporter and blogger Laura Rosen has a blog post which shares my analysis of the sudden media ubiquity of James Baker.

James Baker is nothing if not a GOP loyalist. So how coordinated is his book roll out (Comedy Central, Meet the Press, NPR this morning) with the White House in advance of the November election? My sense: totally coordinated. Is it not a very deliberately timed reach out and wink and nod to GOP realists -- see, we are listening to you? The adults are in the house? Cheney has been confined to the attic? With Kissinger? Safely reviewing 1969 Vietnam memorabilia? Baker with his mock naive, never thought of it before, well, it would be too political to release our Iraq recommendations before the elections, I'm just an independent reasonable foreign policy steward doing my own thing? Seems Baker is a witting campaign prop being coordinated by the White House to communicate the message, the realists will be in charge of foreign policy the next two years. Without the White House having to say it, or it necessarily being true.

Given his role in getting W. into the White House in 2000, I'd happily see Baker exiled to a hut in Antartica. But beyond that, has there been evidence that W has been willing to listen to Baker at any time since then? Don't people remember the articles a while back about how W was proving to be his own man by blowing off the friends of his dad like Scowcroft and Baker (who many had assumed would be keeping an eye on things?)

Is there any reason to believe that W. is going to start listening to them now, which would require him to admit that they'd been right with their concerns about the Iraq misadventure before it started? Does that sound like the W. we know?

Baker is going around peddling this "we're working on a plan" schtick, with the implication that it will be sane and in some way the magic answer that's been missing, but there's ABSOLUTELY NO reason to believe it will be different from many other alternative plans already suggested. And the hint that, because Baker is involved, W might be willing to use it seems to be just a cynical attempt to induce wishful thinking.

Baker may provide a rationalization for thinking old-school Republicans (who ought to know better) to hold their nose and vote for administration supporters in November, but they'd be better served by staying home. Even better, they could give their party's leadership some "tough love" by voting for the Democratic alternative this time.