Now Playing: W's Stigma, Mel's Stigmata
Like Gibson, Bush is whipping up intolerance but calling it a sacred cause.
At first, the preacher-in-chief resisted conservative calls for a constitutional ban on gay marriage. He felt, as Jesus put it in the Gibson script (otherwise known as the Gospels), "If it is possible, let this chalice pass from me."
But under pressure from the Christian right, he grabbed the chalice with both hands and swigged -- seeking to set a precedent in codifying discrimination in the Constitution, a document that in the past has been amended to correct discrimination by giving fuller citizenship rights to blacks, women and young people.
If the president is truly concerned about preserving the sanctity of marriage, as one of my readers suggested, why not make divorce illegal and stone adulterers?
Our soldiers are being killed in Iraq; Osama bin Laden's still on the loose; jobs are being exported all over the world; the deficit has reached biblical proportions.
And our president is worrying about Mars and marriage?
- Maureen Dowd
No one can reasonably accuse George W. Bush of lacking focus. The problem is what he is choosing to focus on. Given the nature and number of legitimate issues that are facing our country in this election year, how does the issue of gay marriage even rate as an issue? Well, perhaps because it's easier to galvanize his Conservative base- and it sure beats the hell out of having to explain things like Iraq and the "jobless recovery".
Young Americans are dying in Iraq. Joe and Jane Sixpack are still out of work, though those in the upper economic echelons (who, coincidentally, primarily donate to Republicans) seem to be making out like bandits. Terrorism is being used as an excuse to terrorize large segments of the population (Has anyone tried to board an airplane lately?). It would seem that we are not lacking for legitimate issues in need of legitimate solutions. Of course, that would require leadership, foresight, and the ability to make the hard decisions. Why would any respectable politician want to take those risks when you can preach hate against an entire segment of the population and, in doing so, guarantee yourself the votes of another large segment of the population? Do the math. It sure beats doing the work, eh, George?
