| Notes | Book |
Dr. Condoleezza Rice tells us that George Bush spends a considerable amount of time every morning reading a “Threat Assessment” provided by the US intelligence agencies. If I knew somebody who got up every morning and spent an hour or so worrying about which of his neighbors was going to attack him, I would consider him quite unusual, and be a little worried that he might be a threat to the peace of the neighborhood. Apparently the “education president” has been getting a little more education than is good for him. Perhaps more time spent on “Is our children is reading?” and less time spent on “Is our bombers bombing?” would do him some good.
As Shakespeare said, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. I think the actual situation is worse than that. Psychologists have learned what it takes to make any animal crazy. It is uncertainty, ambiguity, and stress. Does this sound like a job description for the Presidency? To survive and prosper in such an environment requires an unusual personality, and not a little skill. Even then, most occupants of high office end up seeming a little unusual to the rest of us.
A president must rely on the information he receives from his advisors. He is the 800 megaton gorilla. So what do you tell and 8 megaton gorilla. Whatever he wants to hear, of course. It is a situation tailor-made to disconnect the President from reality. He is cast adrift in some sort of Statist fantasy with only the most tenuous of feedback from the real world.
And what does an 8 megaton gorilla tell you. Whatever he wants, of course. This is readily verified by a perusal of Presidential Utterances. He seems totally comfortable saying things that are patently false. This has been well documented. We are left to wonder whether he believes these falsehoods. If he does not, he is a pathological liar, deliberately conning the citizens of his country into risking their blood and treasure on false premises. If he does believe the nonsense he is uttering, he is either delusional, or does not have the intelligence required for the job he holds. All of these possibilities are unfortunate.
If you believe, as I do, that Statism is a mental disease, then it would follow that the biggest Statist on the planet would be seriously impacted. There is much supporting evidence for this in the semantics he uses. Anyone with a modicum of analytical skills would have avoided the “War on Terrorism” phraseology. It should be relatively obvious that much of the world would see this as the President of the US declaring war on himself. And this may be what is happening. Is the whole world being dragged through the mid-life crisis of a not very stable, and none to bright “reformed” alcoholic. Are we seeing George Bush's struggles with his inner demons being acted out with cruise missiles, smart bombs, and tanks?
I suppose we may be lucky that George W's mental problemsare not worse. Certainly, there have been other Heads of State who have grossed out more than he has, so far. Several of them were American Presidents. But his condition may get worse. I, for one, would like to see him get voted out of office before that happens.
It all seems to be a good argument for term limits. The shorted the better. As a matter of fact, why not just take it to zero, and eliminate the government altogether. Better ways of organizing huge amounts of money and large numbers of people do exist.