Peter Boyle

Michael Gerson, US President George Bush’s chief speechwriter for the past seven years, is retiring from the White House. Someone else will have to come up with phrases like “axis of evil”, “the soft bigotry of low expectations” and “the armies of compassion” to sell the messages of the leader of the world’s biggest terrorist state.

Perhaps another will step up from an army of White House minions to craft more extraordinarily rendered prose in easy bite-size chunks for Bush to wage his global “freedom agenda”. The successful replacement would have to pen disingenuous lines like:

• “Freedom is not America’s gift to the world; it is the Almighty God’s gift to every man and woman in the world.”

• “Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you... We have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation... By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well as a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power; it burns those who fight its progress. And one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.”

(Translation: Actually, it is “America’s gift”. Almighty God is with us and we’ll shoot you if you don’t say: “Thank you, Sir!”)

Time magazine named Gerson (aged 42) one of the 25 most influential US evangelical Christians. “God put Gerson where he is today”, said Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Centre vice-president Michael Cromartie (he’s an evangelical too). I guess Almighty God will find a suitable replacement.

Here at Green Left Weekly, we’re calling for volunteer Bush bullshit removalists — writers, cartoonists and others prepared to help us distribute the paper. Divine appointees need not apply.

We also desperately need more help in funding our project (corporate sponsorship is not anticipated). We are trying to raise $250,000 for our fighting fund over the course of this year. Last week we raised $2,264, with a generous $500 donation from Fred K, bringing the total we have raised so far this year to 32% of our whole-year target. We urgently need to crank up the drive. Can you help us keep alive the war against Bush bullshit?

Please send your subversive donation now to PO Box 515, Broadway 2007, phone it through on the toll-free line 1800 634 206 (within Australia only) or donate online at: <http://www.greenleft.org.au/fogl.htm>.

From Green Left Weekly, June 21 2006.
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