Bush Dissed the Pope

Is it important that on two separate occasions last Saturday the Prez addressed Pope Benedict XVI as “sir” and not “your Holiness”? Is it important that as the Prez sat across from the Pope he crossed his legs “Texas style”? And were these intentional gaffes? Or were they examples of our president’s ignorance? Yes, these blunders are important. Yes, they were intentional. And yes they were examples of George W. Bush’s ignorance. Any Bush-watcher was waiting to see how the Prez would insult the Pope. We didn’t wonder if he would insult the Pope. With Bush, false steps are a tic. It’s an automatic reaction. George W. Bush will insult his betters. And that’s not a compliment to the Pope. Each person in the world is one of George W. Bush’s betters. The Prez had been briefed on the proper form of address when speaking to the Pope. He had been briefed on etiquette and rules of conduct with the Pope. And he was disrespectful anyway. We are told this is the first time the Prez had met Pope Benedict XVI. And, as I wrote on Saturday, it may be the first time Bush met Benedict, but it is not the first time Bush had met Josef Ratzinger because I heard him say “Good to see you again.” But the importance of his gaucherie is that he was addressing the Pope. Never mind that he’d met the man before. These gaffes are going to become more prevalent and more pointed between now and the day George W. Bush leaves office because Bush has officially entered his Lame Duck phase. The folks in voter-land are telling their elected representatives that George W. Bush and his policies are wrong. Congress is starting to reflect the opinions of voters, not the opinions of George W. Bush. It won’t be long before the president’s veto will be overridden. It takes a two-thirds vote in the chamber originating a bill (a quorum must be present) to override a president’s veto. The bill then does not become law. The first time a George W. Bush veto is overridden, I fully expect him to yell “Fuck you!” and flip the bird to Congress. And that’s surely something to look forward to.