Richard Kostelanetz
Dubya’s Anti-Semitism (2001)
Only people with certain sensitivities, perhaps cultivated too long, would notice that none of President Bush’s new top appointees is Jewish. That none, nada, zip. Okay, perhaps he felt justified in “writing off” the Jewish vote, which scarcely supported him. Perhaps in turn some of us are justified in dismissing younger Bush, with anxiety if not in horror. Recall that the most prominent financiers prosecuted by his father’s administration were Jewish—most conspicuously, Michael Millkin and Ivan Boesky. A writer promoting his new book about Jews in the Confederacy noted that Jefferson Davis had more Jews in his cabinet than George W. Bush.
Some years ago a friend investing in the common stock of provincial banks had a firm rule: avoid those with no Jews on their board of directors. His reasoning was not that Jews were geniuses—they aren’t—but that anti-Semites were jerks who would let stupid backass prejudices, if not motives for revenge, get in the way of doing the best business. Perhaps the greatest tragedy for beleaguered investors is that he (I) can’t sell the Bush administration short.
An Italian-American friend of mine noticed that the only Bushleagers whose names end in a vowel are Paige and Rice, both visibly BASPs. When invited to eat at the White House, may I recommend bringing your own food.
Caveat emptor.