Bush Never Learns

For the first time in American history the nation is governed by a fanatic. The latest proof is the President's speech to the VFW convention. Swallowing all of Mikheil Saakashvili's pretensions at face value, as he'll always do if you say the right things, Bush "underlined that Georgia had contributed troops to US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq "to help others realize the blessings of liberty," according to Agence France Presse.

"Georgia stood for freedom around the world," Bush said, "And now the world must stand for freedom in Georgia."

Bush remains infatuated with Georgia's "Rose Revolution," which he elevates today to the status of "one of the most inspiring chapters of history." He might ask what Saaksashvili has done for democracy lately, apart from committing one of the greatest strategic blunders of recent times, but he's probably looked into the Georgian's soul too often to view things from the outside.

Likewise, Bush deludes himself into saying, "The world has come together to condemn this assault," but can only cite his own country and NATO as evidence. That probably is the world to him -- the "free world." And so much for minority rights, too. Says the heir of Woodrow Wilson: ""South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia. And the United States will work with our allies to ensure Georgia's independence and territorial integrity,"

I try not to overdo the invective here, depending on my correspondents to bail me out. This time, I'll vent vicariously by quoting from a writer for Pravda, the erstwhile Commie organ, as cited in an Australian newspaper. Isn't the internet amazing? And sure, the rhetoric is overblown and the genocide claim is almost certainly excessive, but let's remember who's the hypocrite here and let the Russian speak for herself:

No sane, informed, honest, rational person can blame Russia for reacting to a genocide against their own citizens in Georgia. But then you are none of those things. Your Government is advised by lunatics who belong in psychiatric wards instead of the Pentagon and White House.