Known and Unknown

I failed. I did not finish Donald Rumsfeld's Known and Unknown. I made it to chapter 20 or so, ending somewhere before 2004. It has been very interesting to hear a conservative's first-hand account of the majority of republican presidential administrations since President Johnson. Hell, it's interesting to hear anyone's first-hand account of the executive branch during the second half of the 20th century (only a decade or so were in democratic administrations). Given, of course, its watered-down politicky nature. This must be understood and accepted.

According to Donald Rumsfeld, Donald Rumsfeld is a likeable guy. He's intelligent—I'm assuming it was his choice, not his editor's, to put quotes from Saul Bellow, H.L. Mencken, etc. at the beginning of most chapters—but his most defining characteristic is his pseudo-puritanical good ole boy-ness. An article featured in Financial Times referred to his schedule as Spartan-like and he is known for working while standing up. He is obviously a hard worker, disciplined and all that.

He's such a hard worker, he worked at Searle for almost 15 years, the pharmaceutical company that created aspartame, which probably boosted his status as a multi-millionaire. While there, he downsized the company's workforce by 60%, earning praise for the company's freshly polished “bottom line.” A winning characteristic of his is similarly unsettling: his ability to go in and meet a goal despite, or in light of, the cost.

He's careful to never criticize democratic presidents (though he came very close to criticizing Jimmy Carter on his defense policy). He does nothing short but lavish praise on the republican presidents, especially the ones he worked for. I guess that's a good goal for a president, to hire a cabinet that adores him, and I would be quick to assume Obama's cabinet offers similar praise for the Commander-In-Chief.

It's important to note his dissatisfaction with the media during the war in Iraq. I remember being similarly dissatisfied, though for different reasons: He criticized the mainstream media's use of sources such as blogs and Youtube videos. He thought they were unreliable. When one of Iraq's prominent museums was raided, he ignored initial accounts and wanted to wait for the “facts” to come in, undoubtedly referring to the AP or a similar news conglomerate with corporate interests. For shame, to assume that the AP's take on an event is the Real, True Account, ignoring the fact that, like all good news stories, any account of the event would ignore some details in favor of others to create an overall impression for the reader to take with him/her. (I re-iterate that this is the most efficient way to spread information, but no one should forget that it's not “the whole truth.”) It's safe to assume that the AP's account of a raid in a country the U.S. has invaded is likely to support national interest.

So what's wrong with Rummy? This is a man who is firmly holding on to a 1940s and 50s American values system in the midst of a post-modern, self-aware digital age. THIS is his problem. This, and the obvious other fact that he was born a well-built white male with enough intelligence to go to Princeton on a wrestling scholarship (though some would see that as a solution). Combine these things with his refusal to admit he may have done things wrong, and you've got the standard patriarchial archetype—big belt buckle, loud shoes, small heart.

Those who are born disadvantaged, who fight their way into some form of success, actually have an advantage over those who were born “with advantage.” I respect Rumsfeld's life and work for the fact that he lived it, probably did the best he could with the values/morals he possessed, and is now donating all profits from his memoir to veteran's charities (as anyone possessing a soul would.) But he was born into an advantage (notwithstanding the hard work he did put in) and doesn't seem to have the wisdom one would expect from so many years in D.C. As a history professor wrote, “Rather than seriously contemplating the implications of the events in which he participated, Rumsfeld spends more than 800 pages dodging them.”

In true politican's fashion (and one must NEVER forget that Rummy is, above all, a politician), any semblance of self-reflection is overwhelmed by the desire to put forth a consistent self-image. The price for this characteristic is what is needed most in regards to a person who is authorized by the government to determine life-and-death matters: Trust.