Bush as Queeg

Brad DeLong points out the strange comments that George Bush made at the beginning of an interview that he gave to Bild magazine:

Before Kai Diekmann has gotten to say more than "[I was in the Oval Office o]nce, a long time ago" and "Yes, [the rug] is very beautiful," Bush has said six hundred words, including:

"...people watch me like a hawk... if I'm going to be [w]ringing my hands and if I'm all worried about the decisions I make are not going to lead to a better tomorrow, they'll figure it out.... I not only strongly believe in the decisions I make, I'm optimistic that they're going to work -- very optimistic... they want me to change -- they being the -- and I'm not changing, you know. You can't make decisions if you don't know who you are, and you flip around with the politics. You've got to stay strong in what you believe and optimistic about that you'll get good results. And so -- the other thing I want you to know about me is that no matter how pressurized it may seem, I'm not changing what I believe. Now, I may change tactics, but I'm not going to change my core beliefs.... I'm not changing. I don't care whether they like me at the cocktail parties, or not. I want to be able to leave this office with my integrity intact..."

Remember: at this point in the interview Bush has not been asked a single question. I wonder who he thinks "they" are...

And the rest of the Bush interview isn't much more coherent.

You can find the full text at Interview of the President by Kai Diekmann of BILD.

By the way, here's one of the responses to DeLong's post:

"Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist, and I'd have produced that key if they hadn't of pulled the Caine out of action. I, I, I know now they were only trying to protect some fellow officers..."

I think it's the same "they".