I listened to the first half of W’s speech on the radio. Then I switched to TV because his performance was so lackluster, his tone so monotonous. It was worse watching him. My working hypothesis: Before he went on, W said he really wished he weren’t a recovering alcoholic so he could have a drink “jes’ to steady mah nerves,” so the White House doctor gave him a mild sedative.

As for the substance: It’s beneath contempt. Sorry to write him off, but by now we know how his mind works. For any problem, he can hold on to only one solution. No matter how the situation changes or what the evidence is, that one solution is the right one. A massive – and massively unbalanced – tax cut was the right policy when we had a huge surplus and it’s the right solution when we have growing deficits. Overthrowing Saddam is the right thing so we will come up with evidence to support it. It isn’t dialogue. It isn’t even thinking. If W weren’t president, there would be no reason to waste a moment listening to him.

Categories: Uncategorized dw