The American people got treated to some Dubyah ruminations recently after a rather extended hiatus.

I apologize in advance for what I am about to say. No offense to my evangelical and other orthodox Christian friends, but I think that Dubya is an empty shirt who exchanged a drug addiction for a Jesus addiction in the 1990’s. He spent a decade furiously digging out of a deep pit of his own making – and partly succeeded only because he was the son of an ex-president.

I’ve had an extended dialogue with someone who has overcome drug and alcohol addiction. He contends that Dubya is a classic example of the millions of addicts who struggle furiously to overcome years of wasted time and deep-seated guilt.  I hope that Dubya has acquired some measure of peace from his struggle, but it is a travesty that he acted out this psychological drama on a national and world stage and on our time and tax dollars. And, yes, I’m to blame along with millions of other Americans because I voted for him and drank generously of his rhetorical Kool-aid.

In my humble opinion, Bush is responsible for a lot of this country’s current fiscal woes, which stem from his ill-conceived guns and butter policies. He acutely lacks any sort of intellectual curiosity. He thinks in absolutes.  He would be far better off keeping his mouth shut and concentrating on his newfound affinity for portrait painting.

As for his discussion of American culture and nationalism – yes, many people of many different ethnic and racial backgrounds have contributed to American culture and civilization. Even so, American culture is discernibly Western and when it ceases to be Western – well, we will be in a helluva lot of trouble, because the freedoms we take for granted in this country are inextricably bound up in our Western cultural inheritance.

Frankly, anybody contends that we can continue to enjoy our current material and cultural advantages in a society that is no longer grounded in the cultural values of the West is selling you a bill of goods.

In the meantime, Dubya, just stick to your portrait painting and leave the lofty thoughts to someone else.