Good for a laugh

I was on my way to a Sunday evening get-together when I heard it, on the top-of-the-hour NPR news.

The story was about President Bush's Middle East trip, where he was busy hobnobbing with his oil buds in Abu Dhabi and giving speeches on freedom and democracy. He used the occasion to once again denounce Iran and generally try to ignite World War III.

But the part that made me burst out laughing was a clip of Bush attempting to directly address Iranians, telling them, "You have a right to live under a government that listens to your wishes...."

Hah! If Bush really believed that...well, we'd be out of Iraq by now and he would have signed the S-Chip bill to provide health care for low-income kids. Hell, we might even be doing something about global warming.

Too bad Bush doesn't believe his own propaganda.

Here's a link to Bush's speech. For another perspective on his trip, read NYT columnist Maureen Dowd's Faith, Freedom and Bling in the Middle East. Just to whet your appetite, here's an excerpt:

Puddle jumping through Arabia, the president saw his share of falcons in little leather hoods — presumably not a Gitmo reference — and Arabian stallions, including one retired stud from Texas — presumably not a W. reference. But there was a distinct dearth of wives and dissidents....