Dear Tom Friedman:

Why do you depict George W. Bush as though he has a functioning brain? Your Op/Ed column in this morning's NYT, “Run Dick Run” credits George Bush with making policies, with making decisions and with being a leader. The title refers to the fact that you feel George W. Bush's main problem is that he has no heir apparent (as in, Cheney is not going to run in 2008) and therefore George W. seems aimless. I assume you saw the news clips of President Bush yesterday in a press conference with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker the current EU president (a politician from Luxembourg), the current EU commission president Jose Manuel Barroso (a politician from Portugal) and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana (a politician from Spain who sided with Colin Powell when Powell lied to the UN). They were in Washington for annual talks. During the press conference, President Bush made inappropriate jokes and snide remarks and laughed and snickered and looked like a fool. You saw that, didn't you, Mr. Friedman? A Q&A period followed the politician's canned remarks. One questioner directed this query to President Bush: “President, we were told that you planned to sharpen your focus on Iraq. Why did this become necessary? And given the recent surge in violence, do you agree with Vice President Dick Cheney's assessment that the insurgency is in its last throes?” Bush laughed. Yes, he openly laughed and grinned and mugged while Barroso cringed. You watched that, didn't you Mr. Friedman? Then Bush pulled himself together and said: “I think about Iraq every day -- every single day. Because I understand we have troops in harm's way and I understand how dangerous it is there. And the reason it's dangerous is because there's these cold- blooded killers that will kill Americans or kill innocent Iraqis in order to try to drive us out of Iraq. I spoke to our commanders today -- Commander Abizaid today and will be speaking to General Casey here this week, getting an assessment as to how we're proceeding. We're making progress toward the goal, which is, on the one hand, a political process moving forward in Iraq and, on the other hand, the Iraqis capable of defending themselves. And the report from the field is that, while it's tough, more and more Iraqis are becoming battle-hardened and trained to defend themselves. And that's exactly the strategy that's going to work. And it is going to work. And we will complete this mission for the sake of world peace. And you just heard, the E.U. is willing to host this conference with the United States in order to help this new democracy move forward. And the reason why is, many countries understand that freedom in the heart of the Middle East will make this world more peaceful. And so, you know, I think about this every day -- every single day. And I will continue thinking about it, because I understand we've got kids in harm's way. And I worry about their families. And, obviously, any time there's a death, I grieve. But I want those families to know, one, we're not going to leave them -- not going to allow their mission to go in vain; and two, we will complete the mission and the world will be better off for it.” These are the remarks of an idiot, Tom Friedman. And yet you write your articles depicting George W. Bush as though he is a man who is leading our country. President Bush answers a serious question about Iraq by saying he “thinks about it every day…every single day”? He thinks about it? That's the answer of a man who has no power or clout whatsoever. That's the answer of a man who is not even in the loop. Everyone else in the White House makes decisions and acts. George W. Bush is not even consulted. George W. Bush simply thinks about Iraq every day. And I would certainly hope he thinks about it! Driven by his egomania and narcissistic personality disorder, George W. Bush has allowed the real movers and shakers in the White House to put his face on an illegal and unnecessary war in Iraq. So I would hope he thinks about it. Because, as of yesterday, the war in Iraq has murdeered 1726 American soldiers. But can George W. Bush DO something about it, Tom Friedman? Of course he can't. When are you journalists going to tell the people who really is running the country?