History

Remember when George Bush dropped his, "History, we don’t know. We’ll all be dead," quote, when asked how History will remember his Iraq war? I do. I had to roll my tongue back into my mouth. It was, for me, the most ridiculous statement I had ever heard come from a man who claimed to believe in a higher power.

You see, I conceive of History as more than a series of grand events. I see it as the gradual evolution of large events, driven by the minutiae of daily life. So when someone, a world leader no less, comes out, looking earnest, and says something like that, I think only one thing: That they don't care about the small stuff.

Imortant decisions, for Bush, are only about "big" things. Follow that logic and you will have a pretty good sense of why things are turning out the way they are for a man who is about to become the most unpopular president in US history. George W. Bush has none of the patience or resolve he talks about. If he did, he would have built his case for his war and his policies from the bottom up, as a result of introspection and intellectual debate. He did not and that is why all he can do is spout lines and tell you "It's good for you," even when it isn't.

His lack of familiarity, now reduced to "Bushisms," is proof that he doesn't seem to comprehend what he is saying at its very core. It's just something someone told him. I'm not trying to belittle the guy—not anymore—I think he's doing a good job showing people he's nothing special. That's fine if he's a farmer somewhere, content with being the way he is. This man, however, controls the daily lives of close to 300 million people! Not to mention, he affects the lives of billions more.

He should vacation less, learn more, meet every damn Mother who lost her kids to a bullet in a desert where there is nothing—no WMD, no noble cause, and very little freedom—and tell them he is personally sorry for having screwed it up and for continuing to drag out the lie.

Political Hotlinks!

Francis Fukuyama, in the NYTimes writes an eloquent rebuke of the prevailing ideology in this administration. A Must read.

Great article from Asia Times Online on the Iraqi Constitution and the American influence on it.

Excellent article from Foreign Affairs about Democracy as the solution to Terrorism. Is it?