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Trust Ye Not In Princes, In The Sons Of Men In Whom There Is No Salvation

It’s not just Mario Loyola who gets down on his knees to thank President Bush for all of the blessings he has bestowed on us.  Via The Plank, here is John Hinderaker (he of the “President Bush is an artist ahead of his time” school of personality cult), who has surpassed the bootlickingest of the bootlickers, […]

It’s not just Mario Loyola who gets down on his knees to thank President Bush for all of the blessings he has bestowed on us.  Via The Plank, here is John Hinderaker (he of the “President Bush is an artist ahead of his time” school of personality cult), who has surpassed the bootlickingest of the bootlickers, the lackeyest of the lackeys, the servilest of the servile:

I had the opportunity this afternoon to be part of a relatively small group who heard President Bush talk, extemporaneously, for around forty minutes. It was an absolutely riveting experience. It was the best I’ve ever seen him. Not only that; it may have been the best I’ve ever seen any politician. If I summarized what he said, it would all sound familiar: the difficult times we live in; the threat from Islamic fascism–the phrase drew an enthusiastic round of applause–the universal yearning for freedom; the need to confront evil now, with all the tools at our disposal, so that our children and grandchildren can live in a better and safer world. As he often does, the President structured his comments loosely around a tour of the Oval Office. But the digressions and interpolations were priceless.

The conventional wisdom is that Bush is not a very good speaker. But up close, he is a great communicator, in a way that, in my opinion, Ronald Reagan was not. He was by turns instructive, persuasive, and funny. His persona is very much that of the big brother. Above all, he was impassioned. I have never seen a politician speak so evidently from the heart, about big issues–freedom, most of all.

I’ve sometimes worried about how President Bush can withstand the Washington snake pit and deal with a daily barrage of hate from the ignorant left that, in my opinion, dwarfs in both volume and injustice the abuse directed against any prior President. (No one accused Lincoln of planning the attack on Fort Sumter.) Not to worry. He is, of course, miles above his mean-spirited liberal critics. More than that, he clearly derives real joy from the opportunity to serve as President and to participate in the great pageant of American history. And he sees himself as anything but a lame duck, which is why he is stumping for Republican candidates around the country.

It was, in short, the most inspiring forty minutes I’ve experienced in politics.

If Mr. Hinderaker didn’t exist, it would be necessary for Bush critics to invent him.  He is at once fanatically loyal and impervious to reality in a way that perfectly captures everything that is wrong with this administration.  He is a perfect mirror of his master (which, to him, would be a compliment of the highest order).

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