Contempt of Congress

Some would argue that Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers for the Suprem Court shows his contempt for Congress. In Congress's case, that contempt has been richly earned of late, but Bush's contempt is much broader. He has demonstrated a contempt for the institutions of democracy, for science and every other form of expertise, for the laws and traditions of the country, for the constitution, and for the soldiers he sends to die. He has been quite open in his distain for notions of human rights and "the opinions of mankind."

I'm not sure what makes such a person. Such types are hardly rare, especially among the more monstrous tyrants of history. Unlike most of them though, he is neither a charismatic leader nor a brilliant tactician. If anything, he seems more like the kind of idiot saint used by certain movements as a figurehead - a puppet now flailing purposelessly while his putative masters are distracted by their own peril.

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