Lame Duck, Lame Lines

Oh, the sheer irony of it: the man who almost single-handedly turned the USA from the darlings and role model of the world into its most hated bully and the new Empire of Evil, denounced "misinformation and propaganda" that sully the country's image abroad.

Probably to protect world's most famous dimwit from the adoration of Italian public 10,000 policemen were mobilised in Rome, there were frogmen under bridges and snipers on roofs, and mobile phone signals were being disrupted whenever his motorcade moves. Bush made his European exit with a bang, spreading the Culture of Fear only Americans know how - and that is in the country that sided with the US in Afghanistan and Iraq, a close ally in other words.

To the chants "Bush, go home!' outside, the lame duck president knew no better than to ask Italians to ignore the "misinformation and propaganda" spread about his country and to learn the "first-hand truth about America" by visiting. Translation from Bush-speak: "don't pay attention to the irreparable damage, suffering and destruction that I and my cronies have caused to the world in the last 8 years in pursuit of personal enrichment, just come and see our friendly and hard-working folks - their smiles are simply irresistible".

It is impossible to start an argument with a dimwit without looking like one but it is pointless to argue with a dimwit who is fed lines through a wireless earphone by his speech-writers, and dumb lines at that. So, let's leave him to that, hoping he will cause little more harm before he sinks into the annals of history. There is a special place in hell for people like him.