Jeff Simpson urges Bush’s pals in the business world to convince him of war’s folly

Sunday, May 6, 2007 | 7:05 a.m.

Most folks in the business world, particularly in big business, are Republicans.

I grew up near Cleveland in a small suburb that was overwhelmingly Republican, and learned at a young age why so many of the professionals and businessmen were GOP voters.

The Republicans I grew up near wanted to keep government small and taxes low.

They complained about escalating federal budget deficits, while they supported a strong foreign policy when it came to standing up to the Soviet Union.

They also believed in standing up for Israel against the persistent attacks of neighbors and Palestinian terrorists.

But they were suspicious of the United Nations and opposed basing American foreign policy on human rights instead of our national interest.

Of course, not everyone was a Republican. My mother was - and is - a Democrat, but her foreign policy beliefs weren't that different from most of our neighbors.

She was a strong supporter of Israel, but she opposed the Vietnam War earlier than many .

I remember how difficult it was for Republicans during the last years of Vietnam. They blamed Democratic Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson for getting the country into the war and said Republican President Richard Nixon would make sure the United States didn't lose the war.

"Peace with honor," they said Nixon would achieve.

Yet as time dragged on, many of those same Republicans began to question the cost, in lives and dollars, of interfering on behalf of what was clearly the losing side in a civil war, albeit one where the winning side also had proxy support, theirs from the Soviets and the Chinese.

I'm reminded of those years as the United States comes to grips with what is certainly a losing effort to prop up an impotent government in Iraq.

I wonder what it will take for business leaders to begin putting pressure on President Bush to face reality and accept the fact that the cost of staying in Iraq is far too dear.

The cost is too high in lives and grievous injuries, American and Iraqi. In treasure that is already approaching half a trillion dollars. And in worldwide public opinion.

Some of the Las Vegas business leaders I most respect have been strong backers of the president. They acknowledge that Bush has suffered some defeats, but they defend him.

"These are tough times," Steve Wynn told me in 2004 when I asked whether he'd consider backing John Kerry, like Bush a Wynn friend, in that year's election. Wynn said he was still backing Bush.

Other executives have defended Bush, saying that he's prevented another 9/11-type of attack. "It's a new world, and it isn't pretty," they say, and they defend his efforts to bring democracy to the Arab world.

I don't think Democrats are going to be able to convince the supremely stubborn Bush (his backers would say "resolute") to see the futility of his actions.

Some of the city's top Republican business leaders have to realize this war can't be won. They are too smart not to know. It won't be the message Bush wants to hear, but his friends and allies need to tell him the unvarnished truth.

Just as it took Republican lawmakers meeting with Nixon to explain to him that he would be impeached and tossed from office if he didn't resign, Bush's backers, including those in the Las Vegas business community, need to confront him with a strong dose of reality.

It can be difficult to face your friends with uncomfortable truths, but the time has come for the president's business backers to tell him that the war is lost and that he needs to end it - now.