Just a Freelancer, or the Voice of the Administration's Id?

Former temporary US envoy to the UN John Bolton has used his post-envoy period to become a popular talking head, more so, oddly, in the UK even than here. That headhood reached an apotheosis Sunday when he was invited to speak to the Conservative Party conference. This is the British opposition party which never opposed Tony Blair's war policy, and is still trying to find its way out of its long-term electoral hole. Enter Bolton, to scare the horses, calling for limited military strikes on Iran to deal with its (purported) nukes as well as for regime change, to get rid of the "source of the problem, Ahmadinejad":

The US once had the capability to engineer the clandestine overthrow of governments. I wish we could get it back," he said.

In case any new people have recently wandered into the room, let's review those wonderful days gone by: the US overthrew at least three governments I remember, all three of them (how odd!) democratically elected: in Iran (things have gone so well there since then), Guatemala (ditto), and Chile. The latter regime change brought to power Gen. Pinochet, who recently died just as he was about to stand trial for the murder of thousands of his countrymen. Most spectacularly, one of those murders took place on the streets of our own capital. Yeah, I miss those kinds of balls, too.

Is Bolton just a wondrously goofy free-lancer? Or, in taking him semi-seriously, do the Brits perceive something we don't, that he's the unrestrained, uninhibited id of the Bush administration, wishing for what his brethren still in power are planning?

Longer view: what makes Bolton and his ilk so bizarre is that, on the one hand, they are the primary believers in American exceptionalism, the notion that something or somebody (God? Satan?) imbued this country with inherent moral good, so that we're immune to the evils and ills that plague all the other nations, no matter what we do (to argue otherwise, they say, is to engage in "moral relativism"). Yet, on the other hand, they most eagerly ignore those very elements -- painstakingly woven into the fundamental document of the nation by our founders -- that sought to keep this country from succumbing to the same ills -- meddling in the affairs of others, centralizing power in the executive -- that drove them to revolution, and to try to make this a nation apart..

But then, ids aren't supposed to be rational.

Comments

[Steve]

Odd that you should mention this "monster from the Id". I just caught the tail end of "Forbidden Planet" on the telly the other day and am reminded of what it eventually did to Doctor Morbius.

Now, if someone will just send Robby the Robot and Anne Francis my way and please end this science fiction double feature. . .

[deminmo]

A week ago "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was on. Where are the gallactic cops when you need em'?

[kimk3]

I believe we can also take credit for the death-by-small-plane-crash of Omar Torrijos of Panama (leading to the fabulous reign of Manuel Noriega) and Jaime Roldos of Equador, at least according to John Perkins (Confessions of an Economic Hit Man). Yeah, those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end.

Yes, it's a mystery why anyone pays attention to John Bolton and what he says. He was so loathed he was unable to be confirmed by even our Republican congress -- twice.

[backhandpath]

I listened to two 3 extremely elucidating and long interviews with John Perkins on Coast to Coast AM late night radio. He's an interesting fellow. In the second interview he discussed Naomi Klien's new book,
"The Shock Doctrin"
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine
It seemed that he has a part 1 & 2 to the story as in an epilogue update of 2006?
Everybody should read it. I'm on a waiting list for the book at the library.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man
Did he say in the book if Bolton was his boss at USAID?
The only country to even barely survive and rise from the death caused by Bolton's tenure at USAID is Costa Rica. All the rest: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvadore and Panama have remained and, in some cases, thrived as death-squad dictatorships.

[laserbob]

Reagan, Ollie North, Elliot Abrams..
Bush Jr. John Bolton, Elliot Abrams..
See any pattern here?

lb

[Kendo Nagasaki]

Yeah, and who was really behind the Kennedy assassination ?

Or do you still believe the Warren report

[backhandpath]

If Bolton is Bush's id does that make
Dick the Wizard?

[dogman44]

Dickhead is the ego. Notice how all these risk averse,(at least when it comes to their own priviledged lives),repukes tend to avoid combat
themselves.But they revel in presenting themselves as macho action figures ala john wayne.

[SaintJimmy]

Bolton's the id? It seems like this administration is practically All id.

That's the problem with the Bush Administration and most of the current Republican Party: no superego.

[WorkingClass]

Bolton is just another scum bag. He should be doing customer service from a prison call center.

[PADDYWHACK]

By the time we get rid of these scumbags,if we ever do they will have done even more harm.Britons were very unhappy about Iraq and will not come onside for I ran.Brown is more Old Labor who don't usually believe in genocide.

[davidly]

Thank goodness someone finally pointed out the "relativism" number that's been played so often. I get so tired of BS like 'how dare you compare us to them!' If the shoe fits... But the shoe doesn't fit me, Harry. What to do?