(November 10, 2005) -- We should all thank much-maligned Judith Miller for, unintentionally, pointing the way out of what was called, in another era, "our long national nightmare." Her severance agreement with The New York Times, announced Wednesday, could be used as a model for the dignified departure of President George W. Bush from his current position.
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But will Bush's employer, the American people -- and their sometime surrogates, the press -- demand it? Newspapers, at least, are all too familiar these days with the concept of early retirement and buyout packages.
Again, Judy Miller should stand as a fine precedent for the president. Like her, he is still in the prime of his life and owns some swell real estate. He can leave his job before his colleagues completely abandon him and his employer locks the door. A lucrative book deal certainly awaits (especially if he has been keeping a personal journal during these last, darkest months), and the guy gets a presidential library, and a plush office there, to boot.
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Like Judy, he can say that he is leaving for the sake of his employer, explaining that it is always bad for the country when "the president becomes the story." He could even quote Miller's current complaint about becoming "a lightning rod for public fury over the intelligence failures that helped lead our country to war."
Surely, just as Miller announced last night that she was now a "free woman," Bush can proclaim himself a "free man" -- free, at least, to pursue endless biking trips with his buddy, Lance Armstrong, also now on the retirement trail. Someone else can deal with, or shrug off, the next hurricane disaster.
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