The Optimist

PARADE magazine asked President Bush to share his thoughts on the best and worst moments of 2007. They wondered what he would talk about, but the President told them "right away" that he is "an optimist" and chose to describe five people who inspired him in 2007.

He talked of a mother and father who gave up their son to the conflict in Afghanistan. For their sacrifice, he had given them a bit of shiny metal and colored ribbon.

Another person he talked about was the Director of a national research institute, a paper shuffler directing a bunch of career cancer researchers. Bush gave him another bit of shiny metal and colored ribbon, one must suppose for this guy's federally-funded efforts to find a cure for cancer sometime in the next five hundred years.

He talked of an HIV positive African female whose child he held in his arms during a meeting in the Rose Garden at the White House, at which time Bush proposed doubling America's commitment to global HIV/AIDS relief.

Finally, he talked of a Cuban woman who fled to America after her husband was jailed for the "crime" for advocating democracy. she "inspired" him during a visit to the White House.

Let's look at this a bit closer. Two of his most "inspiring " moments are when he gave out a couple medals, one was when he proposed doubling the American taxpayers obligation to a global problem, and the last one was over a jailed man who - like Bush - liked to promote democracy but just didn't have a superpower military to do it with.

Every one of his examples were as much about him as anything else. Bush had passed out medals, Bush had proposed spending more money, Bush had found another democracy game player,

In a nation that is facing massive challenges, all he was able to do was talk about events in which he played the starring role.

An "optimist"? Don't make me laugh. He is a cynic - a charlatan - of the first magnitude.