god's plan

one thing the reporters are trying to get bush to say is, "i don't believe there are mistakes." maybe they're smarter than i give them credit for. when they ask, "what was your biggest mistake" their not just asking a dumb question. they're gathering evidence for the claim that, "bush is such a providentialist that he doesn't believe in mistakes."

one powerful piece of evidence in favor of this claim is his recent decision to award L Paul Bremmer (you know he's important because of that funny thing with the "L") the Medal of Freedom. Bremmer, of course, made the widely criticized decision to disband the iraqi army. things really could have gone a totally different direction, many think, if that decision was not made.

bush thinks that by postumously awarding him this medal, the situation will be ameliorated by his "show of faith." "yes, we were worried," he'll later say, "but we stayed the course and things worked out." because he controls the loudest megaphones, that will surely, ultimately, be the conclusion. at least, there's a powerful position in the discourse that can be occupied. it's not transcriptural. it's a richer process. but the people may have something that trumps megaphones. language might not end up being that powerful. there is, after all, the native languages. not the abstract representation of speach, but the creatures themselves, the truths they feel, what is so obvious it's not what we're talking about.