by Mark Silva
For all the differences that President Bush and Pope Benedict XVI have over the war in Iraq and other dilemmas, the president suggests that he and the pontiff see eye to eye on some basic principles.
“He is a really important figure in a lot of ways… He doesn’t come as a politician. He comes as a man of faith,’’ Bush said of Benedict in an interview with World TV, a religious broadcaster, carried on the Opus Dei blog. “I so subscribe to his notion that there is right and wrong in life… I want to honor his convictions.
“The Holy Father represents and stands for some values that I think are important for the health of the country,’’ Bush says in a long interview, viewable here. “One of the tenets of my foreign policy is that there is an Almighty and a gift of that almighty to every man, woman and child is freedom…His holiness speaks with that kind of clarity.’’
They see eye to eye on aid to the impoverished and disease-stricken in Africa.
‘’It is in our moral interests,’’ Bush said in this interview. “It invigorates our soul to know that there are babies we are saving… This isn’t a George W. Bush deal… This is America. This is America at its best.’’
They part ways over the war, with the Pope particularly concerned about the casualties that Christian minorities have suffered in Iraq. Bush was asked about this in an interview that goes into great length about the question of the war.
“This is a war,’’ Bush said. “You’ve got to understand that what you’re witnessing is not just an assault on innocent Christians. You are witnessing an assault on innocent people of all faiths… by cold blooded killers who want to drive the United States out of the Middle East because they hate free societies.’’
The enemy in Iraq, he said, “are a bunch of thugs and killers who have this dark, dim view of the world’’ and will kill anyone who gets in their way. “The real threat of the 21st century is these thugs and killers,’’ the president said, with a warning that he often reiterates in public addresses. “They are the ones who attacked us and we have to defeat them overseas if we don’t want to face them here.’’
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Comments
Yep...nothing like a papal visit to use as a reason to spin your war.
Posted by: bill r. | April 17, 2008 11:25 AM
Where has this President Bush been, acknowledging right and wrong!!? It is so convenient to acknowledge this difference, now that you are about to head out of town, on a permanent vacation. It is too bad you didn't see this difference when you bravely, uttered, " Bring 'em on! ". Yes, it is unfortunate for all of our men and women in the Armed Forces that your foresight was so underdeveloped. It would have been a lot easier on a lot of our American families.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | April 17, 2008 11:33 AM
He is a really important figure in a lot of ways… He doesn’t come as a politician. He comes as a man of faith...
The Pope is a scholar and the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church. Bush's explanation of his own world view sounds like he is explaining it to a 6th or 7th grader. The Pope isn't holding that against Bush, but I would say that he also isn't buying Bush's justification of the war or torture.
Posted by: Grandblvd03 | April 17, 2008 11:36 AM
The fact is that the Pope IS a politician. The only difference is that Angela Merkel didn't hold high mass in Crawford. Chimpy states there is a right and wrong in life? More Iraqis have died under the Bush/Cheney invasion/occupation than under Saddam. Those watching or listening to World TV know this. Bush is saying he thinks the US belongs in the Middle East. No wonder they want to "drive the US out". The Middle East belongs in the Middle East. Bush's broken record of, "they are the ones who attacked us...get them in Iraq so we don't have to face them here", doesn't work to inspire Americans to support his extreme lies. I'll bet the Pope sees the inconsistent Bush/Cheney words and actions-- as does the rest of the world. Doesn't Bush see how no one believes or values him? He chooses to live in his own highly feathered Kevlar bubble where he plays a Wii game showing him as a benevolent president. Sick boy. If it wasn't so sad, it would be really funny.
Posted by: Vivian | April 17, 2008 4:03 PM
There is smart and there is stupid. Guess which one we got stuck with?
Vivian,
"highly feathered Kevlar bubble", good one, and soooo true.
Do you suppose the U.S. was worried about "right and wrong" when it supported Saddam in the 80's? Just wondering.
Posted by: dt | April 17, 2008 4:44 PM