Bartlett's Bizarre Bazaar

President Bush would have us believe that his administration collectively holds the deeply held conviction that human rights are universal and that democracy is the greatest form of government. Or, to paraphrase his actual speech; “freedom, freedom, freedom… [repeat ad nauseam]”. As I have argued before, this is what he would have us believe while my interpretation of his freedom motif is a call for ‘free’ markets. That is markets free for large corporations to take a dominant, supra-national role that transcends democracy rendering it impotent if not obsolete.

However, perhaps I have been too harsh. Perhaps President Bush will break with the bad old days of American foreign policy and usher in a new age in which American interests can be summed up as interests in human dignity, welfare and freedom. Of course, if this were true, he would not appoint John Negroponte as national intelligence director, surely.

This is not a man with a conviction that human rights are universal…

This is a man who should be convicted.