OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST:

"From the outside, one despairs at having to endure another four years under the knife of such a man. More seriously, the hatred for the administration could well transform itself into hatred for all Americans, culpable for having re-elected such a president in full knowledge of his agenda. Even within the Republican Party, a number of responsible individuals are disquieted by the 'messianic American Calvinism' of Bush."

"For Bush and his supporters convictions are more important than reality, and indeed decisiveness was the foundation of this triumph. . . . The majority of Americans rate character higher than competence, morality as more important than the economy."

"It is true that Bush is a very powerful president and that he incarnates an ideology that the rest of the world no longer understands. And there are those Americans who also no longer understand the rest of the world. That should be disquieting and, for those who judge that the politics of Bush are globally incapable of dealing with the zone of tensions--the Arab-Islamic world--it is not encouraging. None of this will reduce the grinding clash of civilizations, which is denounced every morning but worsens every day through further mistakes."

"In Europe, as elsewhere, [Bush] is far more interested in coalitions of the willing than in universal agreement. In Washington there have already been references to the new axis of evil: France, Germany, and Spain. Those who talk like that are only half joking."

"The electoral triumph of Bush is anchored in a program that reflects the part of the United States that is most anti-intellectual, intolerant, and provincial--the extreme religious right. This political force has formed a tenacious contingent, obstinate and blind to progress, characteristics that are not so different from the beliefs of Islamic fundamentalists, the patrons of global terrorism. There is nothing wrong with a president practicing and being motivated by faith. The problem begins when religion intervenes in matters of state, education, scientific research, wars, and even the private sphere of individuals."

"[W]ith jobs disappearing, deficits running rampant, their kids being killed in Iraq saving the world from non-existent weapons, Americans rushed to the polls to keep gays from marrying and women from having abortions. The culture war somehow trumped the Iraq war--evidence of an America not only fiercely divided but in deep denial. The world, by the way, lost. So did reason, the poor, African-Americans, stem-cell research, the air and water, gun control, the cause of basic competence, the belief that the truth will out."

"The Americans preferred security to bread, yet they paid no heed to the fact that by invading Iraq, Mr. Bush did weaken his war on terror [as well as] smearing the image of the US [for] friends and foes alike. By accepting Mr. Bush's message, the majority of the US people proved that the US has turned from the land of dreams to the land of fears."

"I spent the whole night trying to figure out why I am so gutted by the Bush victory. I came to the conclusion it's because I care what happens in the world: four more years of Bushism will only lead to more innocent deaths, an increase in ignorance on environmental concerns and a more unstable world."

"HOW CAN 59 MILLION PEOPLE BE SO STUPID?"

Want to comment on this article? Send us an email!

Armageddon Buffet is looking for speculative fiction, social satire, and cyberpunk; future fantasies, alternate histories, and apocalyptic visions; surrealism, naturalism, and literotica; well-researched and considered political, philosophical, and cultural commentary; true tales of successful activism, rebellion, and opposition; positive alternatives and survival strategies. More