Saving Face

The concept of saving face was fundamental to Japanese society where warriors would often commit hari-kari by falling on their sword rather than endure dishonor or humiliation.

But this week in Washington, we saw the effects of saving face in our society. Senator Chuck Schumer, in one of his more helpful moments, had recommended Michael Mukasey to George W. Bush as a possible consensus candidate for Attorney General after the disastrous tenure of Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales was accused of firing United States Attorneys for political reasons, perjuring himself on Bush's domestic eavesdropping program, and writing a secret memo authorizing the use of physical interrogations that many described as torture.

Surprisingly, Bush listened to Schumer's advice. After the nomination of Mukasey, Schumer crowed that the nomination would have bi-partisan support.

But events don't always go according to plan. Mukasey opined that the President didn't always have to follow the law in national emergencies, and, most signicantly, refused to characterize waterboarding as torture.

Of course, Schumer had argued strenously against both those positions. But he proved unable to extract himself from his own pride since the President had followed his advice. He didn't want to be the only Democrat supporting Mukasey so he hunted around, and, through his own persuasive gifts, convinced Diane Feinstein to support Mukasey as well. As a result, the nomination will probably be voted out of committee and approved by the entire Senate.

Thus, Schumer showed an inability to retreat from his strong support of Mukasey despite the results of the Senate investigation, an investigation that found Mukasey diametrically opposed to everything Schumer believed in.

Why? Because Schumer needed to save face. That's the same affliction as George W. Bush who refuses to admit error in a disastrous war.