L'etat c'est moi - Bush

Bush, on Air Force One, had this to say about the Dubai Port World dust-up:

"I can understand why some in Congress have raised questions about whether or not our country will be less secure as a result of this transaction," the president said. "But they need to know that our government has looked at this issue and looked at it carefully."

Let's look at the logic (yes, logic) that produced this sentence.

Bush's statement identifies two entities. First the Congress and second "our government." I would say that both of these entities actually exist and that identifying them is unexceptional. The relationship that Bush establishes between the two, however, is pretty indicative of what Bush actually thinks about government.

Substitute a few words and you could easily have a parent trying to mollify an unruly child or a school principal attempting to assuage angry students. The tone establishes a master / servant relationship between Congress and "our government."

The point here is simple. Bush considers Congress and "our government" separate and unequal.

If he had said, ""I can understand why some in Congress have raised questions about whether or not our country will be less secure as a result of this transaction. But they need to know that this administration has looked at this issue and looked at it carefully." Or "the DOT has looked at this issue" or "the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has looked at this issue" it would be a whole different concept.

Bush considers Congress, the elected representatives of every American Citizen (controlled by his own party) and the "government" to be separate. If the legislative branch isn't "our government," who is? Certainly not the judiciary. To many 'activist judges.' That only leaves the executive...

L'etat c'est moi - George W. Bush


Bush Imperial Presidency Unitarian Executive