From WAPO:

For a moment there, I was almost encouraged. George W. Bush, the most resolutely incurious and inflexible of presidents, was reported last week to have been surprised at seeing Iraqi citizens -- who ought to be grateful beneficiaries of the American occupation, I mean "liberation" -- demonstrating in support of Hezbollah and against Israel.

Surprise would be a start, since it would mean the Decider was admitting novel facts to his settled base of knowledge and reacting to them. Alas, it seems the door to the presidential mind is still locked tight. "I don't remember being surprised," he said at his news conference yesterday. "I'm not sure what they mean by that."

I'm guessing "they" might mean that when you try to impose your simplistic, black-and-white template on a kaleidoscopic world, and you end up setting the Middle East on fire, either you're surprised or you're not paying attention. But that's just me.

As for George Bush, what on earth is on his mind?

Even conservatives have begun openly assessing the president's intellect, especially its impermeability to new information. Cable television pundit Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, devoted a segment of his MSNBC show to "George Bush's mental weakness," with a legend at the bottom of the screen that impertinently asked: "IS BUSH AN 'IDIOT'?"

It's tempting to go there, but I'm not sure we'd get very far. While we have the president on the couch, I'm more interested in trying to understand his emotional response -- or lack of response -- to the chaos he has spawned.

According to the Iraqi government, 3,438 civilians were killed in July, making it the bloodiest month since the invasion. The president was asked yesterday whether the failure of the U.S.-backed "unity" government to stem the orgy of sectarian carnage disappoints him, and he said that no, it didn't. How, I wonder, is that possible? Does he believe it would be a sign of weakness to admit that the flowering of democracy in Iraq isn't going exactly as planned? Does he believe saying everything's just fine will make it so? Is he in denial? Or do 3,438 deaths really just roll off his back after he's had his workout and a nice bike ride?

I find it hard to be sarcastic in the face of the ongoing carnage in Iraq. But I do find it making me more and more angry. How is it that intelligent people on the Right, in all their "rah rah," support for Bush, did not see this coming. We on the left have been accused of Bush hatred for pointing out what has been obvious long before Bush occupied the White House. The man has very limited mental capacity. This war, and the resulting pandemonium in the Middle East, was foreseen by many. Those who were against the war, even experienced intelligence and military experts, were all painted as "Bush Haters." The fact that chaos is brewing in the Middle East, and that the entire region is less stable than before the war, is conveniently glossed over in the scare mongering over terrorism. We live in a far more dangerous world than before Bush took office. The big question is, is he capable of keeping us safe?

Others Blogging: The Mahablog, David Corn, uggabugga and Blue Crab Boulevard

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