I won't be watching, but I read the excerpts of his prepared remarks, and one line in particular stood out:
“The secret of our strength, the miracle of America, is that our greatness lies not in our government, but in the spirit and determination of our people.”
If you begin from the premise that "all men are created equal" - and if we're talking about this country we clearly must - then this statement makes no sense. If our greatness comes from our "spirit and determination," from where do they come? Are we genetically superior to others? Clearly not. Does it come from a shared religious faith? Given the multiplicity of faiths that exist in this country, that cannot be it either. Is it something in the soil? Can't be, unless that whole "illegal immigration" thing is a big mistake. So what then?
The answer, of course, is that "the miracle of America" is rooted in our constitution. As Tocqueville so clearly understood, it was our constitution that gave birth to a complex and vibrant political culture, one unlike any other nation before or since. In America, everything becomes a political question, because in America, everything is political. We, the people, are both the citizens and the state. In America, there is no separation between the governors and the governor. In America, the government and the people are one.
Our constitution was and is unique because it was designed first and foremost to protect liberty. And yes, liberty is the key to our strength, but it was, is, and always will be a liberty preserved and protected by the constitution and the government it creates. That is what makes America great, no matter what this president might say.
UPDATE: A follow-on thought: If it isn't our form of government that makes us unique, what's the point of this whole "democracy promotion" thing? Isn't the idea that the structures of government and society matter the foundation on which Bush's entire "freedom agenda" has been based?
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