DER FUEHRER

The NY Times calls their editorial Bush Untethered, but I'd call it "Bush der Führer."

Watching the president on Friday in the Rose Garden as he threatened to quit interrogating terrorists if Congress did not approve his detainee bill, we were struck by how often he acts as though there were not two sides to a debate. We have lost count of the number of times he has said Americans have to choose between protecting the nation precisely the way he wants, and not protecting it at all.

On Friday, President Bush posed a choice between ignoring the law on wiretaps, and simply not keeping tabs on terrorists. Then he said the United States could rewrite the Geneva Conventions, or just stop questioning terrorists. To some degree, he is following a script for the elections: terrify Americans into voting Republican. But behind that seems to be a deeply seated conviction that under his leadership, America is right and does not need the discipline of rules. He does not seem to understand that the rules are what makes this nation as good as it can be.

Watching Bush at his Rose Garden press conference, I saw a nasty, ugly would-be tyrant who downright threatened the nation -- I couldn't believe it. He as much as said, "If you don't do it my way, I'll take my football and go home and let the terrorists do what they want to you." Incredible behavior for a United States president. Yet 40% of Americans approve of this would-be dictator.

What's happened to my country?

Tags: Bush, Rose Garden press conference, torture, Geneva Conventions