http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/wb/xp-46210
What kind of man is Bush?
Tim Abbott
Abbott, of Hillsville, served in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1974
and is a tutor at New River Community College.
I grew up during the Cold War, in the aftermath of World War II,
and I am a Vietnam-era veteran, so through my life I have heard a
lot about freedom.
I was raised at a time when the portraits of George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln hung in schools and evoked
patriotism. We were taught that we should emulate their ideals in
thought and deed. They were the examples of principles such as
individual conscience, political liberty and social justice.
Washington was the father of his country. He led the Revolutionary
army, telling his officers to treat prisoners of war "with
humanity," and, like Cincinnatus, voluntarily stepped down from the
presidency.
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, stating that all
men have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
And Lincoln was admired for his thought, humor and compassion. He
wrote with malice toward none and charity for all.
Against these men and their successors were the fascist and
communist dictators. In the photographs, Adolf Hitler, Benito
Mussolini, Josef Stalin and Francisco Franco strutted in military
uniforms. Their concerns were not liberty, but national security
and the national interests. All who opposed them were traitors and
cowards.
Today we have other wars -- the war against terrorism and the Iraq
war. Once again we are told these wars are about protecting our
freedom.
Al-Qaida, we are told, wants to destroy us. Perhaps that is true,
though it is hard to see how it is capable of such a feat.
President Bush has called al-Qaida and Islamic fundamentalists
"Islamo-fascists."
Bush talks a lot about freedom, courage, transparent government and
the rule of law. He talks.
His speeches are carefully choreographed before audiences of his
faithful -- often Christian fundamentalists or, to paraphrase Bush,
Christian-fascists -- and they must sign loyalty oaths to Bush. He
speaks before audience after audience of soldiers and sailors who
cannot speak except as directed by the White House.
Others before whom he speaks may ask no
questions. He runs from journalists, as we have seen in China, even
on those rare occasions that he speaks before them.
Even worse, he has paid journalists to say good things about him
and his policies. He also produces propaganda from government
offices that he offers as news reports. And any protests against
his policies are diverted well away from his sight and
hearing.
In his Mission Accomplished foray, he
wore a military uniform, something no president has done
since Washington, and Washington only wore the uniform to quell a
rebellion.
Around the world he has replaced the Soviet Gulag with the Bush
Gulag, where men may be tortured.
He refuses to divulge the energy
industries' influence upon his policies and the records of his
Supreme Court nominees.
He refuses the United Nations access to question prisoners at
Guantanamo Bay and refuses the Red Cross access to prisoners at CIA
black sites. Furthermore, he threatened to veto legislation against
the torture of prisoners even as Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice conveyed a "don't ask, don't tell" torture policy to the
world.
In Iraq, he took us into an unnecessary war.
He uses fear, intimidation, distortion and lies. I cannot tell
whether the man cannot tell the truth or he doesn't know the
truth.
From these few examples of many, what kind of man is Bush? Is he
like Washington or Lincoln? Or is he a man of another kind? Not a
Cincinnatus, but a Tarquin.
When I think of Bush, I do not think of liberty and courage,
compassion and justice. No, I think of arrogance, greed and lies.
He is a thug, a buffoon and a coward. Not only is he incompetent,
he is corrupt.
He is of a kind with the dictators; a strutting, sanctimonious
buffoon who talks democracy but acts like Saddam Hussein. Bush
might differ in degree from Hussein, not having been in power as
long, but in behavior, with torture and the corruption of
government, they are of a kind.
While al-Qaida is an enemy of the values and principles of the
United States and Western civilization and must be confronted, it
can do no more than kill people and destroy property.
Bush can subvert our principles and
institutions. He is the greater enemy.