oh, so that's what they meant

[jfb]

William Saletan:

Thursday morning, President Bush greeted the people of Iraq on their TV screens. "You are a good and gifted people," he told them as Arabic script appeared below his face. I don't know Arabic, but I'm sure the translation didn't convey what Bush means by "gifted." He doesn't mean exceptional. He means ethnic.

What? Go read it.

Comments

Re:

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Bush hates me, or would if he were aware of the greater population.

Also, while this may have changed, Bush doesn't have the best record for actually thinking about what he's saying with regards to the rest of the world. I'm remembering specifically the "crusade" he talked about bringing against the middle east shortly after 9/11.

Also, frankly, I don't think a discussion of the subtle semantic connotations of "gifted" holds a candle to the kind of right-wing-nuttery I've seen coming from the radical right. Just the implication that Saddam was in cahoots with Bin Laden blows it out of the water.