"The Only Thing That Worries Me About You Is Your Optimism"

That would be Jose Maria Aznar to George W. Bush, a month before the invasion of Iraq. Read the whole thing.

Comments

If Bush was a literary rather than a real living character, he would make such a good tragedy.

Posted by nyx | October 26, 2007 12:31 PM

So, what this article is showing is that Bush really, really, really, really wanted to invade Iraq, while before we only knew that he really, really, really wanted to invade Iraq.

Posted by Bo | October 26, 2007 4:19 PM

What I thought about the article is that Bush's simplistic views about foreign policy were not a method of communication to relate to the common man, but is how he deals with all audiences. Its like the actor who only knows how to play one role because it's not an act, that's who he is.

When foreign heads of state react to him like an overaggressive salesman, when Bush talks to Blair through a full mouth and uses words like "bad guys", these are not rare lapses but a bad statesman. Churchill and FDR knew how to use optimism to rally a public morale, but neither would use the same tones during important policy deliberations when pragmatic realism is required.

I'm not saying he is dumb, but he comes across as a very poor statesman.

Posted by harry | October 26, 2007 6:42 PM

I agree with harry. A similar picture apparently emerges from that new Bush biography, and elsewhere. The way Bush talks about policy in his speeches isn't just a deflection tactic or a way to energize supporters. He actually believes, e.g., that the Iraq War is a fight between good and evil, that we are winning (because we are Good), etc. This stuff is literally the whole picture for him.

I don't see how that doesn't make him dumb, though.

Posted by Toadmonster | October 26, 2007 10:55 PM

There's a tragedy here, but the hero is George H. W. Bush, and the tragedy is the life of his eldest son.

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