Over-analyzed Quote (out of context) of the Day

"[Reporters] don't represent the public any more than other people do. In our democracy, the people who represent the public stood for election. . . .I don't believe you have a check-and-balance function." -Andrew Card, Bush's Chief of Staff in the New Yorker

I think Card's comment is quite revealing. Some liberals in the press were put of by his denigration of the role of the media, but I don't find it that suprising. Every administration has its problems with the press and so its official are naturally hostile towards reporters. However, the part where Card sats "In our democracy, the people who represent the public stood for election" tells us a lot about the way Bush and his people think. This quote suggests that they view themselves as representitives of the general will (to steal phrase from a famous spankin fetishist and political theorist), despite the fact that they got fewer votes. Since they believe they represent America, anything that is good for the administration then is by definition good for the country. That is why we have one of the most mendacious and cynical administrations of recent times. In their world, almost anything is acceptable in order to preserve their hold on power and they are able to rationalize their actions with the conceit that the fortunes of the nation are tried to their political ambitions.