Via “DailyKos”:http://www.dailykos.com/archives/004446.html: In his commentary in today’s Los Angeles Times, Neal Gabler calls the Bush Administration ‘the nation’s first medieval presidency’ because it has exchanged reality for a faith-based, fantasy view of the world:
bq.. The difference between the current administration and its conservative forebears is that facts don’t seem to matter at all. They don’t even matter enough to reinterpret. Bush doesn’t read the papers or watch the news, and Condoleezza Rice, his national security advisor, reportedly didn’t read the National Intelligence Estimate, which is apparently why she missed the remarks casting doubt on claims that Iraq was trying to acquire uranium from Africa. (She reportedly read the document later.) And although Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hasn’t disavowed reading or watching the news, he has publicly and proudly disavowed paying any attention to it. In this administration, everyone already knows the truth. …
…It?s not the know-nothingism of this Administration that should scare us. It’s not even the lies. It?s the studied disregard for facts, combined with a twisting of facts, combined with a profound ignorance of the world-at-large, combined with a severe superiority complex. This supercombo is what makes matters so grim.
>> “LA Times: Neal Gabler”:http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-gabler5oct05,1,7533571.story?coll=la-sunday-commentary
p. This is especially true “concerning US dealings with Pakistan”:http://www.dawn.com/weekly/ayaz/ayaz.htm. The current circus where Bush first met with Musharraf, then later on with “Jamali was a prime example of denying reality”:http://www.dawn.com/weekly/ayaz/20030829.htm, at least to the public. Since the US is a democracy, their leaders aren’t supposed to be constructing fairy tales for the public. They know Jamali has one-tenth the power of the chap who shines Musharraf’s boots, so what the hell is he (and a plane load of hanger-ons) doing in Washington (besides shopping)? I wonder how many people in the US actually think that Prime Minister Jamali has any power whatsoever? The whole meeting with Bush was a charade. There was a time, if the US supported a thirdworld leader he suddenly gained a lot of power and respect back home. It’s telling that even with the support of Bush, Jamali is still seen as just a fig leaf for Musharraf.
As a comment on DailyKos said:
bq. It’s growing more and more obvious that this [the Bush] administration is not only losing any concept of rationality, and growing disturbingly more like Nero’s Rome than an American democratic regime.
*Update:* Much has been said against Bush. See “here”:http://www.dailykos.com, “here”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/michaelmoore/story/0,13947,1055591,00.html, “here”:http://www.calpundit.com, “here”:http://commondreams.org, “here”:http://ko.offroadpakistan.com/world/2003_07/bush_lies_update.html, “here”:http://bodyandsoul.typepad.com/blog/ and “here”:http://www.ericblumrich.com/idiot.html. Now it seems that even Fox News is going to have to start bashing Bush. I give them 4 months tops.
bq. Bush’s economic policies are as flatly wrong as it’s possible for an economic policy to be. Outside of the administration, there are virtually no serious economists left who are willing to defend them.
>> “Calpundit”:http://www.calpundit.com/archives/002378.html
The US govt.’s bureaucracy is turning on the Bush Admin:
bq.. Comptroller General David M. Walker on Monday disputed as “flat false” President Bush’s forecast that economic growth spurred by tax cuts will help shrink the federal government’s annual deficits.
….”The idea that this is manageable or that we are going to grow our way out of the problem is *just flat false*,” Walker said. “Even if we repeal all the tax cuts, you are still going to have to make tough choices.”
>> “The head of the nonpartisan General Accounting Office”:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-deficit7oct07,1,1956110.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
p. *Update:* “George Monbiot: States of War”:http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1014-09.htm :: Appeasing the Armed Forces Has Become a Political Necessity for the American President. So that’s why Bush gets along so well with Musharraf.