Come on, sociopaths
can't be embarrassed

Some news stories related to President George W. Bush's state visit to London, England may have left readers with the impression that Bush cancelled a planned address to Parliament for fear he might be embarrassed by hecklers.

This Mirror/UK piece is a good example:

George Bush was last night branded chicken for scrapping his speech to Parliament because he feared being heckled by anti-war MPs.

The US president planned to give a joint address to the Commons and Lords during his state visit to Britain.

But senior White House adviser Dr Harlan Ullman said: "They would have loved to do it because it would have been a great photo-opportunity.

"But they were fearful it would to turn into a spectacle with Labour backbenchers walking out."

Bush canceled the speech, that's true enough -- but not lest he suffer embarrassment. Bush is a sociopath, and sociopaths are incapable of embarrassment.

The operational key word in the Mirror story was "embarrassed." It was "photo-opportunity."

What Bush feared (because Karl Rove told to) is landing himself in a situation in which the taped footage would not result in a golden footage for future campaign advertisements. Even more to be feared was landing himself in a situation that wound generate unseemly footage the other sides and the evening news editors cold run over and over until the public got the message.

Bush survives on lies, more lies, political myths and media image. He can ill afford to have evidence such as this of what low degree of respect the world has for him floating around.

Bush's mind is a criminal mind. Criminals are cunning (though not necessarily bright), forever figuring how not to leave evidence behind and angling ahead to establish plausible deniability and serviceable alibis. This is what is going on with Bush in England.
The president -- which is really to say Rove -- wants a bread- and-circuses distraction today's mob and excellent footage of him hobknobbing with world leaders in exalted places like Buckingham Palace to bank for tomorrow's 30-second spots.

That was what the USS Lincoln tailhook landing was all about. Since that episode is rapidly losing its luster and usefulness, then footage of him and Queen Liz chortling together in her spiffy palace become ever so much more important.

No, having unflattering images of British backbenchers booing and exiting en masse show up on the evening news would never do.