Thick as a Bush

Our favorite madman George W. Bush gave an interesting speech today before a friendly audience of religious nuts, a preposterous reiteration of hysterical idealism that devolved into a fest of self-righteousness, delusional patriotism and blind faith. In other words, just another day and just another talking point for a neoconservative nationalist who actually believes (or says he believes) that an invisible man in the sky wants all cultures to abide by a standard of freedom set by the United States:

NASHVILLE (NYT) — President Bush delivered a rousing defense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Tuesday, mixing faith and foreign policy as he told a group of Christian broadcasters that his policies in the region were predicated on the beliefs that freedom was a God-given right and “every human being bears the image of our maker.”

In a 42-minute speech to the National Religious Broadcasters convention, Mr. Bush called upon European allies to step up their efforts in Afghanistan, and conceded that recent security gains in Iraq “are tenuous, they’re reversible and they’re fragile.” Still, he insisted his troop buildup there is succeeding.

“The decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my presidency,” Mr. Bush said, to a standing ovation. “It is the right decision at this point in my presidency, and it will forever be the right decision.”

Bush's idealism has led this nation straight into the toilet. He preaches this holier-than-thou morality that all other countries should live by (or else!), all the while ignoring the desperate cries of his own people to fix this one. Billions and billions getting funneled to other broken societies and the American corporations that are allegedly fixing them; meanwhile, most Americans can't afford health care or a gallon of gas to keep their car running.

And then he has the audacity to pretend things are just peachy over there in the Middle East -- and it can only get better!

“The effects of a free Iraq and a free Afghanistan will reach beyond the borders of those two countries,” Mr. Bush said. “It will show others what’s possible. And we undertake this work because we believe that every human being bears the image of our maker. That’s why we’re doing this. No one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave.”

Right. All those countries that we've been bombing and overthrowing for decades will take one look at a "free" Iraq and declare complete loyalty to American democracy with the misty-eyed fervency of Rudy Giuliani at a 9/11 rally. That makes sense.