Tuesday, October 19, 2004
'HE UNDERSTANDS THEM, BECAUSE HE'S JUST LIKE THEM'
This past Sunday, the New York Times Magazine published a profile of George W. Bush that should scare the bejeezus out of anybody but the most devout evangelical Christians. I touched on the president's Messianic leanings in a recent entry, but this story by Ron Suskind lays it out in frightening detail. In short, it paints Bush as a determined fundamentalist with an unwavering belief in his mission and a total disregard for alternative views.
Read the entire story.
* The President Has a Swedish Army Knife.
The president met with a few ranking senators and members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. In those days, there were high hopes that the United States-sponsored ''road map'' for the Israelis and Palestinians would be a pathway to peace, and the discussion that wintry day was, in part, about countries providing peacekeeping forces in the region.
(Congressman Tom) Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall: ''I don't know why you're talking about Sweden,'' Bush said. ''They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.'' Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: ''Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army.'' Bush held to his view. ''No, no, it's Sweden that has no army.'' The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.
This past Sunday, the New York Times Magazine published a profile of George W. Bush that should scare the bejeezus out of anybody but the most devout evangelical Christians. I touched on the president's Messianic leanings in a recent entry, but this story by Ron Suskind lays it out in frightening detail. In short, it paints Bush as a determined fundamentalist with an unwavering belief in his mission and a total disregard for alternative views.
''This is why he dispenses with people who confront him with inconvenient facts, he truly believes he's on a mission from God. Absolute faith like that overwhelms a need for analysis. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence. But you can't run the world on faith.''This is a revealing read no matter what side you're on, and if you're still undecided, this is a MUST read... (and by the way, how can you still be undecided??). If the story wasn't true, it would be hilarious. Instead, it's just plain scary. While the entire piece is filled with fascinating detail, including W's Nordic confusion*, what's most important to remember is this:
A senior Bush adviser: "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality...we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."Downright Orwellian that is. These guys have got to go.
Read the entire story.
* The President Has a Swedish Army Knife.
The president met with a few ranking senators and members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. In those days, there were high hopes that the United States-sponsored ''road map'' for the Israelis and Palestinians would be a pathway to peace, and the discussion that wintry day was, in part, about countries providing peacekeeping forces in the region.
(Congressman Tom) Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall: ''I don't know why you're talking about Sweden,'' Bush said. ''They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.'' Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: ''Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army.'' Bush held to his view. ''No, no, it's Sweden that has no army.'' The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.
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