Thoughts on the "Quiet American" Speech

With George Bush's politically disingenuous and historically inaccurate speech Wednesday, in which he boldly brazenly ignorantly claimed that the big mistake in Vietnam was that we cut and ran got out too early, we were again slapped in the face with the realization that we have a total idiot running the country. The big problem for me in all this is that the media continues to give comfort to Bush and kiss the asses of his enablers. The very idea that the speech could be treated as anything other than seriously misguided balderdash should be viewed as an affront to the sensibilities of thinking men and women everywhere.




In fact, Bush's speech toed a careful line between being stupid and mendacious, but let's just call it what it was: an insult to your intelligence. The notion that the Very Serious People in Washington and New York would continue to countenance Bush's baldly false rhetoric, even after they've been bitch-slapped by Dubya and the Turdblossom Gang repeatedly over the years, should discredit them from offering their opinions ever again -- or at least forestall our listening to them.




One writer on the Web was so shocked by the content of the speech, how the words so twisted the historical lessons of the Vietnam War and misconstrued the message of "The Quiet American," that he theorized perhaps a prankster within the administration punked Bush in a "let's see if we can get him to read this bullshit" kinda way. Mission Accomplished.




Does anyone out there believe the president has actually read "The Quiet American?" Look, I've read a lot of books, and I'll admit to you right here that "The Quiet American" isn't one of them. I suppose I'll have to put it one my list now. I did see the recent movie, however, and I can tell you the character Bush cites does not come out the hero. He's an initially idealistic yet ultimately cynical political operative who at one point helps orchestrate a deadly terrorist bombing he hopes will be blamed on the other side. When confronted with the horror of the civilian deaths his action caused, he coolly notes that the victims can rest in peace knowing they "died for democracy." Sound familiar?