Bush's description of Osama bin Laden in this morning's speech

In his speech this morning, Bush said the following about Osama bin Laden:

The murderous ideology of the Islamic radicals is the great challenge of our new century. Yet, in many ways, this fight resembles the struggle against communism in the last century. Like the ideology of communism, Islamic radicalism is elitist, led by a self-appointed vanguard that presumes to speak for the Muslim masses. Bin Laden says his own role is to tell Muslims, quote, "what is good for them and what is not." And what this man who grew up in wealth and privilege considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers and suicide bombers. He assures them that his -- that this is the road to paradise -- though he never offers to go along for the ride.

To repeat a phrase I have used before in the style of George his ownself, irony can be so ironic.

So, Islamic radicalism is elitist? Then what do you call Bush's administration? Egalitarian? Yeah, right. Wait--what was I thinking? Arrogance, cronyism, policies that favor the very wealthy, etc., certainly are not elitist. By the way, just to be clear, I am being sarcastic.

And who is Bush to criticize someone for growing up in wealth and privilege? Give me a freakin' break. Bush is the epitome of someone who grew up in wealth and privilege. Wealth and privilege got him into exclusive prep schools in the northeast. Wealth and privilege got him into Yale. Wealth and privilege got him into Harvard for his M.B.A. (remember that he went to Harvard only after the University of Texas Law School turned him down). Wealth and privilege got him his own businesses and then bailed his ass out when he failed.

Moreover, Bush has told us that what is good for us is a war that was based on false premises, laws that take away civil liberties, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and a bureaucracy that is now larger than ever and unable to respond to major needs in our own country and in which accountability is nearly nonexistent. And the Bush administration has engaged in repeated use of propaganda techniques to sell its message (see Bush says propaganda is bad--unless he uses it). Gee, isn't that something the Commies did?

And while bin Laden might "never go along for the ride," the same could be said of Bush. Whether he properly completed his service in the Texas Air National Guard or not, there is no question that he avoided combat in Vietnam through such service (remember that he declared on official forms that he did not want to go to combat overseas). Bush ordered a war, sent our troops to war without the equipment they needed (body armor and armored vehicles for example), and then played dress-up as a soldier and declared "Mission Accomplished." And for a recent example of Bush not going along for the ride, check out Next part of the extended rant: Bush is like a deer in headlights, which details that instead of getting back to Washington when it was clear when and where Katrina was going to hit and doing something like, oh I don't know, being a leader, Bush instead decided it was more important to go to Arizona for a talk on Medicare on the morning the hurricane struck, and then he decided it was more important to go to San Diego the next day and give a speech about the war on terror. The he decided that he would go back to Crawford (he was on vacation, after all), and then go to Washington the next day. That ain't "going along for the ride" with the over 1 million people affected by Katrina--many of whom, as we know, were poor Americans.

And before any Bush backers decide to take issue with my analysis, ask yourself how you feel about the Miers nomination. If you are upset about that, then tell me whether you still think Bush is going along for the ride with you.

Bush going for the ride? I pretty much doubt it. Instead, he is taking this country for a ride.