One Terrible Pilot

Brit Hume is an egregious turd, that much is sure. I don't know if he apologized for his "Hmmm, time to buy" remark after hearing of the London terror attacks. But if he hasn't already, he probably won't. I'm not holding my breath, nor would I think it counted for much, because I have little doubt that it wasn't true. Upon hearing of a terrorist attack, his first reaction probably is about how it affects him financially, and how he can profit from it. And hell, it was probably the first time he told the truth all day, so maybe we shouldn't discourage him.

But is it really any worse than what Bush told us in December 2001, on what his initial thoughts on 9/11 were (you can listen to it at the link):
And I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower -- the TV was obviously on, and I use to fly myself, and I said, "There's one terrible pilot."

Now, I doubt this story is true, in that I'm fairly sure that the first crash was not immediately televised. But who am I to doubt the veracity of the POTUS? And sure, he wouldn't have known the extent of the crash, or that it was a terrorist attack. But all that aside, this shows what a completely uncaring prick he is. He's telling us that he watched a large jet crash into a building and his first reaction was to make a little joke about the pilot's skills. Not, "Oh my god." Or, "Holy shit!" Or just an overall sense of dread and nausea. Like the way that you felt when you first heard about it, or saw it on TV. No. He's telling us that his first reaction was to make a little joke to himself.

And that's who our president is. He doesn't care about human life, suffering, or tragedy. He wasn't concerned about the people on-board, or the people in the building, or just with the horror of the whole thing. Because he's lacking in these basic human emotions which force us to care about people we don't know and to be concerned with events which don't directly involve us. And he doesn't even know it. That's the problem with people like him, who lack basic components of human personalities; like empathy and understanding. Because they think they're just like us. They've got their little substitute for those emotions and imagine that they're feeling it too. Like a color blind person who doesn't realize they're color blind, and just thinks everyone's guessing at this stuff too. But he doesn't think he's guessing. He genuinely believes that he has all the emotions necessary to make a well-rounded person. But he doesn't. Maybe it was the silverspoon, or maybe some CIA experiment that his parents were involved in before Junior was born. Who knows. But whatever it is, he is lacking as a human being.

And that's how he could so casually push us into this war. Because, whatever the justification du jour is for why we went to war, the real reason is obvious. He wanted to be seen as a strong president, and he thought it would help his re-election. It certainly helped that many of his advisors and friends wanted the same thing, but that wasn't enough. He did it because he thought it would make him the man that he never could be: a brave man. He wasn't thinking that he'd cause suffering. He wasn't thinking of the destruction, or that things might turn out badly. He thought he'd be an instant hero, with Iraqi streets named after him, Americans idolizing him, and his enemies fearing him. That's what he was thinking about. And not just after 9/11, but long before. 9/11 was just another opportunity for him to use human suffering and tragedy to his advantage.

Hell, he thinks he's impressing us when he tells us that he thinks about the war he started "every single day." That's impressive to him. And it is, for him. Because he knows that he really doesn't want to give a damn. And if he wasn't President, he wouldn't give a damn. You know he wouldn't. If he watched the news at all, he'd be a Fox News dope. But more likely than not, he wouldn't watch anyway. He'd give some blind support for the war, and would go blissly about his life, not caring about what he was supporting at all. He'd only care about being on the "strong" side, whatever that meant. Just like many of his supporters do now. They don't know much about war, but they know what they like. And Bush is clearly the president for them, because he's the exact same way.

And you know something, when I think about it, I'm not really angry at him. I don't really blame him. He's an idiot, but he just can't help it. It's not his fault, it's just the way he is. The frustrating part isn't that he's like this, but that not enough people are willing to realize it. We've got an ignorant jackass running our country, and too many are too willing to give him a pass and assume that he's a really good guy. And despite calling him a jackass, I really don't have anything personal against him. But like most people, he's just not qualified to be our president.

Anyway, this was intended to be a short little snippy post about the above quotes, but I just found a bunch more stuff to talk about, as always. If you want to read more about his official activities that day, you can read his vague recap here. It's toward the bottom of the page. In case you were wondering, I'll tell you right now that, no, he does not mention the part about hopping around the country with his tail between his legs, or how long it took him to reassure the nation that everything would be ok. Or even how long he sat there in that classroom waiting to be told what to do after he was told of the second attack. Perhaps he was contemplating the idea of two such terrible pilots.

He ends this rambling speech in true Bush style: At any rate, I knew I had a job to do. And I was quoted in the press the other day as saying I haven't regretted one thing I've decided. And that's the truth. Every decision I made, I stand by. And I'm proud of the decisions I've made. (Applause.)

And the sad thing is that it's probably true. Not that he doesn't regret anything, as I'm sure he does. But that he's not regretting the right things. His regrets are on personal embarrassments and political opportunities lost; stuff he could never share with us. And not on the suffering that he has caused, or the incompetence he has unleashed on the world. But it's not that he can't admit errors. It's that he's unable to see them. He sees suffering that he caused, but doesn't think it's something that needs to be corrected. He just sees it as yet another opportunity. A terrible pilot indeed.