The Alchemist Speaks

President Bush made some comments at Johns Hopkins University today and then he took some questions. Salon noted one particularly interesting response from our President.

"I want you to understand this principle, and it's an important debate and it's worth debating here in this school, as to whether or not freedom is universal, whether or not it's a universal right of all men and women. It's an interesting part of the international dialogue today. And I think it is universal. And if you believe it's universal, I believe this country has -- should act on that concept of universality. And the reason I do is because I do believe freedom yields the peace.

"And our foreign policy prior to my arrival was 'if it seems okay, leave it alone.' In other words, if it's nice and placid out there on the surface, it's okay, just let it sit. But unfortunately, beneath the surface was resentment and hatred, and that kind of resentment and hatred provided ample recruitment, fertile grounds for recruiting people that came and killed over 3,000 of our citizens. And therefore, I believe the way to defeat resentment is with freedom and liberty.

"But if you don't believe it's universal, I can understand why you say, what's he doing, why is he doing that? If there's no such thing as the universality of freedom, then we might as well just isolate ourselves and hope for the best.

"And so -- anyway, kind of rambling here. Yes."

Allow me to translate the President's interesting choice of words.

1. This is all Clinton's fault.

2. People who disagree with me want are effectively anti-freedom.

Of course it's just barely possible that people who disagree with you, Mr. President, favor acquiring gold the old fashioned way, by like digging it up or panning for it in rivers. Your plan to spin straw into gold seems tempting, but frankly I just don't believe it will work. But you shouldn't confuse my doubts as to the efficacy of your plan for a lack of desire for gold.