Bush has virtually given up on winning converts while in office and instead is counting on vindication after he is dead. "He almost has . . . a sense of fatalism," said Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), who recently spent a day traveling with Bush. "All he can do is do his best, and 100 years from now people will decide if he was right or wrong.
If you see things in the stark terms of Absolute Good or Evil, as many in the conservative base do, then one won't be bothered by little secular setbacks because the Eternal Truths will win in the End. A wingnut who has participated in conversations with Fredo puts it this way:
Much of the discussion focused on the nature of good and evil, a perennial theme for Bush, who casts the struggle against Islamic extremists in black-and-white terms. Michael Novak, a theologian who participated, said it was clear that Bush weathers his difficulties because he sees himself as doing the Lord's work.
"His faith is very strong," said Novak, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "Faith is not enough by itself because there are a lot of people who have faith but weak hearts. But his faith is very strong. He seeks guidance, like every other president does, in prayer. And that means trying to be sure he's doing the right thing. And if you've got that set, all the criticism, it doesn't faze you very much. You're answering to God."
In addition to the religious opiate, Fredo also indulges in a historical fantasy: He's like Churchill fighting Hitler! - "Bush idolizes Churchill and keeps a bust of him in the Oval Office." The Straussians also LOVE Churchill so Fredo the mediocre history student has something in common with these highly-educated fanatics, several of whom assumed prominent roles in Fredo's Administration.
Curiously, Fredo read the best available history of the Algerian War, "A Savage War of Peace" by Alistair Horne. Did the part about torture in the end not working sink in?
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