Losing face in the cultures of some Asian nations has led people to commit suicide, kill family members in honor killings, and resign from national leadership positions. Losing face was what many Asians thought President Bush did in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster.

While many world leaders quickly grasped the scope of the devastation and pledged their support, the silence from Bush was deafening. America was missing in action from the world stage for several days. Where was the richest country on Earth? Why hadn't Bush - the "compassionate conservative" - sent a rescue mission? Couldn't the U.S. forces drop supplies in disaster areas as swiftly as they drop bombs in Iraq?

Finally, from Crawford, Texas, where Bush was spending his Christmas break, came a pledge of $15 million, a figure so small that it was booed in editorials worldwide. Bush added to the awkwardness even when he increased the aid - could it have been out of shame? - to $35 million, or $5 million less than he plans to spend on his inauguration and much lower than aid from less wealthy nations.

Perhaps in response to mounting criticisms, Bush again increased U.S. disaster aid to $350 million, as though adding an extra zero to the previous $35 million was simply to correct a typographical error. It was viewed by many as nothing more than desperate face-saving.

How desperate? Desperate enough that Bush turned last week to his longtime nemesis, former President Bill Clinton, and his own father, former President George H.W. Bush, to spearhead a fund-raising drive. In effect, Bush wants ordinary Americans to open their wallets to help him save face and then get the credit for their generosity. But the same taxpayers who are already shouldering the $1 billion-plus weekly cost of the Iraq war were ahead of him, overwhelming Internet sites with their donations without government prompting. This the world already understands: the distinction between the stinginess of the American government and the generosity of the American people.

If Bush wanted to put America's money where his mouth is, he would seek the same kind of open-ended commitment from Congress that he won to fund the war in Iraq. Three hundred and fifty million is a drop in the budgetary bucket.

It's a shame that Clinton allowed himself to be pulled into Bush's charade. Is Clinton that desperate to rehabilitate his public image and build a legacy? Perhaps he could learn from the more globally popular former President Jimmy Carter, whose legacy extends beyond a single spotlight-hogging crisis or disaster.

The tsunami victims don't have time for America's political pandering, the nature of which was made even more obvious when Bush sent his younger brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to join Secretary of State Colin Powell in surveying the damage - as though it was some kind of stray Florida hurricane that had struck the region. Powell unashamedly busied himself with photo ops and press conferences to shore up America's battered image.

While the U.S. helicopters and planes have finally begun delivering relief, there are many who will remember the delay and the grudging way that relief was extended and many will see Bush's action for what it really is.

This tsunami has washed away what little good will and respect Bush had left in the world. Based on his inept and indifferent performance in this crisis, there will likely be fewer in the world inclined to throw him a lifeline when he needs one.

Eloisa F. Callender is a Madison-based writer. She was in Asia when the tsunami struck.

© 2005 Capital Times

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