Use the Force, Paul

Today’s Tool is that ever-humble, back woods, charming country boy and failed oil tycoon, White House dwelling right wing arch-conservative President of the United States of America, and supposed Leader of the Free World, George W. Bush (although I don’t remember an election for that last position and I certainly wouldn’t have voted for him).

On the occasion of his first state visit to Canada, nearly four years after first taking office, which shows you where we are on the Republican priority list, Dubya brought up a topic with Paulie that wasn’t on the official agenda. Not that any agenda should be rigidly followed, but it’s one thing to bring something up in a private meeting and quite another to share that with the press afterward, particularly when it’s a subject that someone on his staff must have been able to tell him that the majority of Canadians are not all that thrilled with.

I’m talking about the planned Missile Defense System, of course. Star Wars Light you might call it.

I understand that he’s got to posture for his own media, most of which isn’t bothering to cover this state visit in any real detail, but most of us don’t really want another arms race. And that’s the obvious and pending result. The Chinese and Russians are both nervous, the latter having stated that they are starting work on missiles that will be able to defeat the system.

He’s keen on the new defense system. He needs it somehow. It’s become important to him in ways we mere mortals can’t understand. Perhaps it’s a legacy issue, or a tribute to those right-wingers who have gone before. I don’t know, but he’s made it a point to try beating our apparently weak-willed Prime Minister into jumping on board. Paul’s trying to sit the fence, of course, particularly since he doesn’t have a majority in Parliament. And perhaps the Force is a little stronger in him than we think. He hasn’t quite surrendered to the Dark Side... yet.

But if 9-11, Iraq, and his many other lacklustre or incompetent performances weren’t enough, Missile Defense, if it works out, will assure Dubya’s place in history. We may look back at this time in a decade or so and see it as the dawning days of Cold War Episode II: Attack of the Clods. Thanks, Dubya.

You Tool.