George "Longshanks" Bush -- The Commander Guy

Our president said this at a press conference today on the issue of whether or not more U.S. troops might be needed in Iraq:

"The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear -- I'm the commander guy."

OK, The Daily Show is going to have a field day with that comment. Who knows -- maybe Stewart and Company will treat us to another episode of "The Decider."

But as I read about Bush's comment, the image of the King Edward I character (aka "Longshanks") from the movie Braveheart popped into my head. Bush kind of reminds me of a dumb version of Longshanks. This exchange took place during the film's last major battle scene:

Longshanks: "Archers."

English Commander: "Beg your pardon sire, but won't we hit our own troops?"

Longshanks: "Yes... but we'll hit theirs as well. We have reserves... attack."

Sure, it was a pretty cold thing to rain arrows down on your own troops, but at least Longshanks did what he did to win a battle. And at least Longshanks had reserves. We don't.

Bush, however, is sacrificing our troops -- not in the hope that he can be victorious in Iraq -- but in the hope that he can extend the U.S occupation of Iraq until after he leaves office. I truly believe that Bush is terrified that our military involvement in the Iraq Debacle will end before his term is up.

You can't really blame him for feeling that way, though. Iraq will be his legacy whether he wants it to be or not; but can you imagine if history reflects that Bush was president both at the beginning and the end of the United States' military involvement there?

So he's not about to throw in the towel. And if a few thousand more troops have to die because of Bush's political cowardice, so be it. He doesn't care about stuff like that. And he claims we are the ones who hate the troops. I love it.

But to be fair, I don't think Bush hates the troops any more than the Longshanks character hated his troops in that movie. Bush just doesn't care in the least whether they live or die. That's why he doesn't go to any of the funerals. He didn't even go to any of the funerals during the days of "Mission Accomplished" when members of the Corporate Media were dutifully reporting on our "great victory" in Iraq.

But I kind of feel sorry for Bush. I really do. I can't imagine what it would be like to be president of the United States and to know that in all likelihood history will remember you as the worst U.S. president ever.

It's pretty sad, really.