Bush Speech Not a Sign of Policy Shift, Officials Say

Bush Speech Not a Sign of Policy Shift, Officials Say (washingtonpost.com)

Not unexpectedly, the White House yesterday said, essentially, "Never mind. We didn't mean it."

"White House officials said yesterday that President Bush's soaring inaugural address, in which he declared the goal of ending tyranny around the world, represents no significant shift in U.S. foreign policy but instead was meant as a crystallization and clarification of policies he is pursuing in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere.

"Nor, they say, will it lead to any quick shift in strategy for dealing with countries such as Russia, China, Egypt and Pakistan, allies in the fight against terrorism whose records on human rights and democracy fall well short of the values Bush said would become the basis of relations with all countries. "

Musharraf, Putin, the Saudi Royals--tyrants all. We've always been selective in this country about who in the world stood for "democracy" and who were "terrorists," so I can't blame this all on George W. Bush. But I resent his self-trumpeting of American righteousness and "christian values." He talks the talk but refuses to walk the walk.

Compare the White House statement with the interpretations (reasonable ones, if you heard or read the speech) of two Washington Post reporters, here. Excerpts:

"George Walker Bush took the oath of office for a second term yesterday and laid out one of the most expansive manifestos ever offered from an inaugural podium as he dedicated his presidency to spreading democracy and freedom "with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world."

"From now on, Bush said, relations with "every ruler and every nation" will be predicated on how they treat their own people, a profound break from traditional U.S. policy and from the Bush administration's practices in his first term, when it worked with repressive governments in the war against terrorism. In his doctrine for the next four years, Bush presented the United States as a beacon for the subjugated around the world and promised to confront the despots who enchain them."

That's how I interpreted his words, and that's why I didn't believe them. So, what's the story? I'll go out on a limb and say it is just more of what we've come to expect of George W. Bush and this administration, and the ideologues of the Project for a New American Century: lies.

For what I think (immodestly) is a better interpretation of Bush's inaugural address, look at this.