According to The Nation magazine, when a reporter asked him who his favorite philosopher was, George W. Bush replied: "Christ, because he changed my heart."

Among Jesus' most profound teachings are the Beatitudes, found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5.

Christ's words are in purple; Bush's in red.

1: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier...just as long as I'm the dictator." [Source: About.com]

2: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

No quote for this one, but Bush has banned anyone from photographing coffins returning home from Iraq. See: Veterans Against the Iraq War; Common Dreams.

3: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

"Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing." [Source: the White House]

4: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Who's to blame for Abu Ghraib?

"Under the dictator, prisons like Abu Ghraib were symbols of death and torture. That same prison became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values." [Source: the White House]

Who's NOT to blame for Abu Ghraib?

"Mr. Secretary [Rumsfeld], thank you for your hospitality, and thank you for your leadership. You are courageously leading our nation in the war against terror. You're doing a superb job. You are a strong Secretary of Defense, and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude." [Source: the White House]

5: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

"To date, we've arrested or otherwise dealt with many key commanders of al Qaeda.... All told, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. Many others have met a different fate. Let's put it this way -- they are no longer a problem to the United States and our friends and allies." [Italics mine; source: the White House.]

(The author hopes that those "many others" were, indeed, terrorists - but Bush specifies they were only suspected terrorists. His record doesn't inspire much confidence: 90% of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib were arrested by mistake.)

6: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

"It's not a dictatorship in Washington, but I tried to make it one in that instance." [Source: Wikiquote.org] Bush is describing his unconstitutional executive order giving our tax dollars to religious charities.

7: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." [Source: the White House]

8: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"There ought to be limits to freedom." [Source: Common Dreams] Bush was talking about a web site lampooning him.

9: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

"Seymour Hersh is a liar." [Source: Asia Times]

Seymour Hersh is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Other targets of Bush Administration smears have been Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, National Security Agency officer Richard Clarke, and Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Just something to think about.

Return to the Politics Page | George W. Bush Versus the Ten Commandments