The Smug Baldy Speaks

Yesterday, a fey President Bush had this to say in defense of Alberto Gonzales, concerning the upcoming no-confidence vote of his embattled Attorney General in the United States Congress:

“They can have their votes of no confidence, but it’s not going to make the determination about who serves on my government.”

That’s right, he actually said, “my government.” It’s understandable that this president would make such a mistake. After all, for the first six years of his presidency, George Bush ruled as a king might have. With a friendly congress, most of his policies were rubber stamped. Surrounded by yes-men in his own administration, he was able to commit the U.S. to a war that will last long past his own tenure, whether through the boldness of his vision, or the narrowness of our own. His inner circle is virtually untouchable, inept though never held accountable, very nearly broken though never really able to introspect any problems.

Remember, He’s the decider. His job is to make sure the job gets done. He’s a commander guy. He’s all about swooping in, balls out, while wearing a borrowed flight suit and proclaiming, “Mission Accomplished”, “Heckuva Job, Brownie” and “43 doesn’t need to worry about it.” That’s how Bush rolls.

Apparently this isn’t the first time Little Lord George publicly stated that this was His government. Back in February, 2006 Marty Kaplan at The Huffington Post noted:

But no, he said “my government.” I don’t think that’s just a garden variety Bushism, a trivial malapropism. I think it goes right to his understanding of who he is, and who we are. It’s not a Freudian slip; it’s an Orwellian siren, an anti-democratic red alert.

The founding documents of our nation talk about the government, our government, a government, any government. If my is used, it’s said on behalf of the citizens, not their rulers.

But W really believes that it’s his government. He doesn’t see himself as a steward, a trustee, a caretaker, someone who temporarily gets to steer the ship of state because of the momentary consent of the governed and an enduring set of rules. No, he believes it’s his ship, his state, his rules — his and his ideological fellow-travelers.

I really think George Bush believes this is His government, entrusted to him by divine right to do with as he pleases. Without a doubt, this has certainly has been his government to break. His mess. His legacy of failure, death, and declining American prestige. The rest of us are going to be stuck with trying to fix his various boondoggles after he’s gone back to clearing brush on his Texas ranch. We will ultimately be successful, because we Americans really do know how to fix things, and regardless of what George Bush believes, this is actually our government. We just lent it to him.