Bush whacked in The Times

I wonder if the patriotic Fox television fans have read what their favourite channel's proprietor's flagship British newspaper has to say about their beloved President. "The President is a dolt -- so how can America be such a success story?" asks the headline on The Times of London, published by the same Rupert Murdoch who owns Fox. Never mind the Times article by Anatole Kaletsky has a lot of good things to say about America, but it derides President George W Bush ("not just inarticulate, but lacking in judgment, intelligence, integrity, charisma or staying power") and his "doltishly ineffectual government". America is far ahead of Europe "in terms of wealth, science, technology artistic creativity and cultural dominance" despite bad government, it says, because of free enterprise and minimal government.

Newspapers, of course, try to air various views. The Bush-bashing in a Murdoch newspaper may be an example of the freedom of the press. Really? When did a Murdoch paper ever praise the communists? Freedom of the press has its limits. Sadly, for Bush, Murdoch's British newspapers are free to take potshots at him.

Talking about The Times, its US editor Gerard Baker has started his own blog. And he begins by quoting "the wisdom of one of the most underrated of American politicians, the late Morris Udall.

"Everything that can possibly be said has already been said," the peerless member of congress from Arizona once opined in the middle of a seemingly interminable debate.  "The problem is, not everyone has said it yet."

Amen.