Man of the people

In his speech from the French Quarter, Bush decided not to mention that his party wants to make cuts to Medicaid, or that he has championed and enacted tax cuts that benefit the richest Americans. He didn’t mention that he has committed the nation to a long and costly overseas war with no end in sight. He didn’t, in fact, say anything that would identify himself as a conservative Republican. He didn’t even look like the President of the United States! He might have been a basketball coach, or a dentist. Let’s just say it directly: He was in disguise. He might as well have worn a dashiki.

Joel Achenbach