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07/17/2006: "Man of the People"

I consider myself to be politically right of center, but I'm not going to try and defend all of the policy decisions of the current administration. One thing is undeniable, however - no matter how much people may disagree with the decisions made by George Bush, they continue to like him as a person.

This dichotomy is easier to explain than most people realize. Put simply, George is one of us. Unlike many of his predecessors - or his VP - there is a sense that George would be a good guy with whom to knock back a beer ... er, sip a cup of coffee. While the administrative machine that insulates and protects him prevents us from seeing much of the Real George, every once in a while, it slips through.

Earlier this morning, I was considering a blog entry about the situation in the Middle East. As I watched the region rapidly devolve towards all-out warfare, I thought "man, I wish these guys would just knock this shit off." I'm sure that's a sentiment shared by many who would just as soon not see another war break out on the planet.

Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking this way. This morning, after listening to a presentation by UN General Secretary Kofi Annan on their proposals regarding the ongoing violence in Lebanon, Bush was overheard by the Russian press stating his thoughts to British Prime Minister Tony Blair:

"See, the irony is, what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over,'' Bush said.

See? He thinks just like we do. Now if only he knew how to turn his words into actions ...

Bush watchers will recall that this isn't the first time he got caught by an open mic. But these little insights into the Presidential mind just make him seem more human. I wonder ... do you think Karl Rove orchestrates these "slips" ...