The madness of King George

I like it," Bush gushed to Hardball's Chris Matthews during the 2000 campaign, "when I'm talking about -- when I'm talking about myself, and when he's talking about myself, all of us are talking about me."

[...]

It's possible that Bush doesn't know the actual state of the union. If you stop to think about it, how could he? He has reportedly issued a "good news only" directive to anyone tasked with bringing him information. He refuses to listen to anything that does not indicate he is making "great progress," or that does not support his vision of himself as God's warrior striding across the international landscape smearing freedom like putrid jam over every oil-rich nation inhabited by dark-skinned people. By his own admission, Bush only "glances at the headlines just to get a flavor of what's moving," and gets briefed by people who "probably read the news."

What's "moving" is Bush himself, the only flavor of any interest to him. He has moved on from the obscene lies and illegal actions that should have members throughout his administration doing the perp-walk shuffle rather than their current boot-scootin' boogie.

Bush is flying by the seat of his pants, unperturbed by the destruction he leaves in his wake or by the bags stuffed with American bodies that continue to pile up around him. He is confident, as am I, that there will be no oversight, no holding him to account, from any quarter.

If Bush has learned nothing else, he knows two things -- a moving target is harder to hit, and the "God Thing" works.

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Operation Freedom Crusade is underway. Bush says he has lit (sic) a fire in the minds of men -- "an untamed fire of freedom" that he promises will "reach the darkest corners of our world."

Is anybody OUT there? How hot do the flames of freedom have to get before it occurs to somebody to call the fire department...?
  Sheila Samples