Boundless Arrogance

Dubya spokesperson Scott McClellan, upon hearing that Thomas Walkom, a columnist with The Toronto Star newspaper, has suggested that Bush should be arrested for war crimes when later this month he defiles this country with his presence, quipped that Walkom "had spent too much time on the campaign of candidate Ralph Nader." This is the type of thing only an American is capable of thinking or saying. Any non-American can see the absurdity of the statement. Why would he think that a Canadian columnist has spent any time, let alone "too much time," on Nader's campaign? Americans imagine everyone and everything in the world is an extension or appendage of something in the United States. The reality is just the opposite of this picture. The nature of the relationship of non-Americans to things American is not that of a bond. Rather, it is that of a negation. For instance, the reason millions of non-Americans supported Kerry's candidacy was not that they liked Kerry or admired him in any way. The reason they supported him was simply the fact that he was running against Bush, who is seen as a far greater evil.