BBC in London this morning has just played a clip of Bush defending himself with some red-neck stuff about Saddam Hussein that if it is a choice between a madman and defending the American people he will defend the American people.
If you take this literally, any mindset that Saddam Hussein was mentally ill is an even worse failure of intelligence than so far exposed. Just in terms of real politik how can you sensibly analyse any country on the basis that its leader is a madman? Perhaps that really was the problem. But in terms of crude stigmatisation of people with disabilities, this sort of statement would be completely unacceptable in Britain. For all his crimes and misdemeanours, his cynicism and his opportunism, Tony Blair could never have produced this slur on mentally ill people in British civil society. It smacks to me of the unanalysed fascist tendencies that were never addressed in American society in the 20th century. The BBC is clipping and relaying this quote not only because it appears to be Bush's latest defence, but because the individual reporters know it will go down terribly with a large section of British opinion, and not just on the left. There is a wider question that Bush's ideology may play well at home, but it is incompatible with the wider global civil society that is emerging. That is why Kerry and Edwards, despite Edwards protectionist tones, would be a better ticket for global finance capitalism. Chris Burford London
