1115.org

Another classic Bush-icism from his immigration speech on Tuesday:

If you want to scare the American people, what you say is, the bill is an amnesty bill. It’s not an amnesty bill. That’s empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our fellow citizens.

No, Mr. President, not at all. If you want to scare or frighten the American people, what you say is: Al Qaeda is a threat to your children.

You say the bill is an amnesty bill if you want to anger a certain section of the American people.

Is it scary that President Bush doesn’t understand the basics of the English language? I don’t know, you tell me. Is it important that he understands stuff that people tell him, stuff that he reads in briefing memos? Stuff on the basis of which he decides which country we should invade this year. Or whether things in Iraq are improving or deteriorating. Or how we should respond to Russia’s new ICBMs.

Is it important that if his advisers counsel caution, he doesn’t think it means come out with guns blazing? Is it important that if he wants to wait till things simmer down, he doesn’t issue orders to aggravate the situation?

How much of our involvement in Iraq stems from Bush’s partial dyslexia? How much of our torture policies, our extraordinary renditions, our secret CIA prisons? How much of the illegal spying on Americans? How much of the hospital bed strong-arming? How much of the blind, misguided support of Paul Wolfowitz and Alberto Buttercheeks? How much of the saying one thing and doing the exact opposite (remember the pledge to punish anyone who was responsible for the outing of Plame?)?

It is indisputable that we have never had a President who has done so much thoroughly questionable stuff. How much of that comes from his losing battle with the English language?

For better or for worse, the President does his job by processing information, digesting advice and issuing orders. All of these are transactions in the English language. How can we possibly afford a President who doesn’t know how to use this currency, who can’t tell the ones from the twenties?