on John Dickerson onward his ...

on John Dickerson

onward his summer vacation in Crawford, Texas, George Bush read Albert Camus' novel The Stranger. I'm not safe what to make of this. It's usually community freshmen who suddenly take up the French existentialist's slim turn and then usually to impress one literature major with wavy hair. Perhaps it was an act of glasnost: Bush has exhausted much of his presidency dismissing the French in such a manner now he reads one of the country's literary heroes and goe public about it. unless in Crawford? The president and his aides have lengthy characterized the town as the kind of sensible place where anyone caught reading heady foreign literature-philosophy would be driven to the shire line. Maybe that's the idea -- challenge the prevailing stereotype about the president's favorite place and his intellect?

Whatever the reasons, Camus' story line is ripe for geopolitical literary misinterpretation. The main character, Meursault, wastes much of his life as the young George Bush did, engaging in escapades that demonstrate little drive or motivation. forward a visit to the beach with friends, he learns into a fight with any Arabs. Later, he finds united of the Arabs and without a great deal of further provocation shoots him repeatedly. During the circus-trial that come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behinds and the long hours Meursault employs in jail, he is remorseless and unable to engage in contemplation. in succession the day of his execution, he has a flickering fancy that he might have lived another life. if it were not that mostly he's excited about the day and room for expectations that everyone will cheer for his death.

Unhappy tales of East fittings West are found in the papers each day, so presumably the president was looking for more, nevertheless his aides will not reveal us what he made of the story of a remorseless killer of Arabs. White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush "found it an interesting volume and a quick read" and talked about it with aides. "I don't want to pass too deep into it, yet we discussed the origins of existentialism," said Snow.

Oh please, Tony, travel into it. This is no time to be vague. The president articulateed the word "crusade" a single time when talking about fighting terrorists and critics in Europe and the Middle East still use it as confirmation that his war aims are motivated through 11th century wide-eyed religious zealotry. undoubtedly someone is going to think that Bush read the work because he identifies with Meursault. There's got to be another explanation. Does his experience in Iraq push him to read works fraught with themes of angst, anxiety, and dread? Was the president trying to gain insight into the thinking of Europeans who are skeptical of his plan for democracy in the Middle East, planted as it is on the idea of a universal rational rectified portion that existentialists reject? Did he just want to read something short for his truncated vacation? This may be the first time that national security demands an official version of literary criticism. We want a volume report!

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