"In reference to your Excellency’s instructions regarding the large exercises at the Public Center, having strong faith in the only God in our hearts, and God’s permanent support to the believers, the faithful, the steadfast, and with great love that we have for our great homeland and our Great Leader, our Great Leader has won God’s favor and the love of his dear people in the day of the great homage."
No, that cadenza of sycophancy wasn’t extracted from a Bush-adoring thread at FreeRepublic.com, although it would be an honest mistake to think so. It was composed by an Iraqi bureaucrat who was following the regime’s prescribed conventions in addressing the Dear Leader. (For more of this sort of thing, see here.)
But Saddam’s minions and Bush’s dwindling band of adherents spoke the same language of Leader Worship – albeit in slightly different dialects.
Of course, Saddam often summarily executed those who displayed insufficient zeal in prostrating themselves before him. Witness the case of the Iraqi Health Minister, who was executed in 1982 for daring to suggest that Saddam, having led the nation into a disastrous war with Iran, should consider resigning. The man’s dismembered body was delivered the following day to his widow.
Oh, and about a year and a half later, Donald Rumsfeld visited Baghdad to shake Saddam’s hand on behalf of President Ronald Reagan.
George W. Bush isn’t the type of ruler who could have his critics flayed alive. I honestly believe, however, that his view of executive power occupies the same spectrum as Saddam’s, and unless something is done right away to rein in presidential powers we’ll see our share of Saddam-style atrocities, and probably much sooner than most people think.
It’s not difficult to imagine how Saddam would have reacted to being publicly roasted by the likes of Stephen Colbert. To judge from George W.’s body English as he witnessed Colbert’s performance, the president was mentally scrolling through a menu of exotic punishments – just window-shopping, of course. The most revealing thing about that episode was the visible anxiety on the part of the Washington press corps, who seemed to think that Colbert had made a victim out of George W. Bush – who merely has the power (albeit not the authority) to kill anyone, anywhere, anytime, for any reason he deems suitable, in any quantity he considers necessary.
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen offered a museum-quality example of this mindset.
"[Colbert’s] defenders – and they are all over the blogosphere – will tell you he spoke truth to power," sniffed Cohen. "This is a tired phrase, as we all know, but when it was fresh and meaningful it suggested repercussions, consequences – maybe even death in some countries. When you spoke truth to power you took the distinct chance that power would smite you, toss you into a dungeon or – if you’re at work – take away your office. But in this country, anyone can insult the president of the United States. Colbert just did it, and he will not suffer any consequence at all. He knew that going in. He also knew that Bush would have to sit there and pretend to laugh at Colbert’s lame and insulting jokes."
"Self-mockery can be funny," concludes Cohen. "Mockery that is insulting is not. The sort of stuff that would get you punched in a bar can be said on a dais with impunity. This is why Colbert was more than rude. He was a bully."
Let me get this straight.
Bush can send Colbert to Gitmo, or (what’s even worse) sic the IRS on his family – and it’s Colbert who’s the "bully"?
The last time I checked, a bully is someone who picks on the less powerful. Colbert was teeing off on the most powerful mammal on the planet.
Commentator Robert Parry offers a useful description of a genuine bully at work.
George W. Bush’s public persona, Parry writes, is that of "the wise-cracking guy leading a pack of vacationers out of the elevator toward the all-you-can-eat buffet bar, while poking fun at Charlie for getting too much sun on his bald head or at Mildred for putting on a few extra pounds. The others in the group titter with nervous amusement, fearing their ribbing will come next." He is "the alpha male on the cruise ship," the wealthy and socially insulated jerk with a keen eye for the imperfections of others and a vivid memory for such details – and no compunctions about using any advantage, however petty, to protect and enhance his social advantages.
"At a joint White House press conference May 16 with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, as the two men stood side by side, Bush slipped in a couple of zingers about Howard's bald head and supposed homeliness," recalls Parry by way of illustration.
"Bush joshed, ‘Somebody said, "You and John Howard appear to be so close, don't you have any differences?" And I said, "yes, he doesn't have any hair."’ Getting a round of laughs from reporters, Bush moved on to his next joke: ‘That's what I like about John Howard,’ Bush said. ‘He may not be the prettiest person on the block, but when he tells you something you can take it to the bank.’ Howard played the role of gracious guest, smiling and saying nothing in response to the disparaging comments about his physical appearance."
Let’s see: Colbert is a "bully" for lampooning Bush’s policy failures and intransigent devotion to his misguided policies. But Bush was just a Hail Fellow Well-Met for humiliating another head of state who just happened to be a victim of male pattern baldness.
Got it.
This wasn’t the only time Bush has keyed in on that characteristic as a way of cutting people down.
"Though many men are very sensitive about losing their hair, Bush seems to find their baldness a source of humor, a way to put them in their place," continues Parry. "At a press conference on Aug. 24, 2001, Bush called on a Texas reporter who had covered Bush as Texas governor. Bush said the young reporter was ‘a fine lad, fine lad,’ drawing laughter from the national press corps. The Texas reporter then began to ask his question, ‘You talked about the need to maintain technological …’ But Bush interrupted the reporter to deliver his punch line: ‘A little short on hair, but a fine lad. Yeah.’ As Bush joined in the snickering, the young reporter paused and acknowledged meekly, ‘I am losing some hair.’"
Could it be that Bush, dimly but painfully aware that there is little inside his head, compensates by drawing attention to similar deficiencies in what is on the outside of other male craniums?
"Bush exhibits other physical alpha-male tendencies, such as when he greets another man by cupping his hand behind the man's neck, a sign of both affection and control," Parry points out.
Just as interesting is the fact that Bush’s mannerisms change abruptly when he is dealing with a foreign leader or other figure who actually wields substantial power. Witness Bush’s deferential behavior during the recent visit of Chinese ruler Hu Jintao, the way he avoids offending Mexican President Vicente Fox (whose country is actually involved in aggression against ours), or the time he literally hid behind former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
"Alpha Male"? It depends on the room, I guess.
Back in the 2000 election season, Al Gore – with the help of feminist author Naomi Wolf, tried to re-cast himself as an Alpha Male. This explains, inter alia, why Gore was often seen shoe-horned into blue jeans that threatened his circulation, and why he planted the assault kiss on his wife at the Democratic National Convention.
Gore’s efforts struck most people as a severe case of over-compensation, and with good reason: Al Gore, he of the prissy demeanor and elongated sibilants, would be hard-pressed to qualify as an Alpha Male at a florist convention.
In this respect, as in so many others, George W. Bush’s performance has prompted a more charitable re-assessment of his 2000 democratic rival. This is not because Al Gore looks any better, but rather because George W. looks so much worse.
And George’s Alpha Baboon routine has inspired mimicry from his hangers-on. Witness the territory-marking antics of tough-guy wannabes like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. O’Reilly’s face-off with Jeremy Glick (the one who lost his dad in the 9-11 attack, not the identically named NCAA Judo Champion who was a hero of United Flight 93) was a terrific display of faux machismo that ended with O’Reilly gesturing for security guards to haul the small, meek, well-spoken Glick away.
The same kind of thing is on display in Hannity’s performance at Utah Valley State College in October 2004, as chronicled in the documentary This Divided State: Preening in front of a crowd composed of thousands of cultish Republicans, Hannity swagger-waddled across the stage snarling at largely absent liberals – before inviting a genuinely brave liberal up on the stage to be assailed by the deafening abuse hurled his way from the crowd.
"Conservatives" of this kind we don’t need, but nearly six years into Bush’s reign that’s practically the only variety on offer.
May 27, 2006
