It’s funny – it’s pretty evident that George W. Bush will be remembered as one of the worst presidents this country has ever had, yet the current crop of Republican candidates can’t seem to help parroting the essential ideas that made his administration such a disaster. Despite the clear message of the voters We want change! the Republicans are stuck on a series a pre-fab talking points a la Rove, and can’t seem to stop repeating themselves.

I saw Mike Huckabee on television at a New Hampshire rally and he said the non-word "irregardless" twice in one sentence. Since "irregardless" is one of the cardinal and most obvious examples of ignorant speech I had to wonder if there wasn’t something purposeful in this gaffe. W won quite a few votes by being more like the average guy, the cowboy you’d like to go to a barbecue with, and obviously Huckabee is striving for a similar aw, shucks, I don’t go for no high falutin’ learnin’ vibe, which had already snookered a lot of people, including the erstwhile great indie thinker Michael Stipe. Don’t confuse the actor with the role, Mike, just because Huckabee’s better at playing rube than Fred Thompson. The rest of the speech was from the Bush play book too, early to middle Iraq period, often word for word. It was the old familiar trope about how freedom, like sunshine, comes from god, not government, and how Jesus really wants everybody to be in an American style democracy, which would happen only if mean old government would step out of the way. Of course, this divine intent emanating from the all powerful has remained remarkably obscure throughout most of human history, even during the period of greatest Christian power known as the dark ages. Similarly god’s desire for freedom for slaves was never fully articulated and it was, in fact, only the concerted acts of men and governments that have resulted in every ounce of freedom we know. And think about the Garden of Eden – wasn’t god really forbidding freedom for men in his desire to keep us all on the plantation? Much to the administration’s surprise when the government was eliminated in Iraq chaos, not freedom, resulted. What’s really clearly self-evident is that freedom does not come from god but man, and that it is protected and nurtured by the acts of government. Of course Bush in his endless quest for ever more Orwellian logic seems determined to destroy the freedom of the American citizen in order to save it, and that cute folksy old Mike would no doubt applaud.

The alleged sudden U-turn in god’s eternal plan in 1776 is reminiscent of the way the Mormon church has received divine telegrams at politically expedient moments, like the ones reversing his everlasting will concerning polygamy when Utah wanted to be a state or the one admitting blacks into the church when that was becoming a problem. He’s not supposed to change his mind is he? It’s ironic that Mitt Romney, who presents himself as the most logical and businesslike of the Republican candidates is a member of the wackiest branch of Christianity. It’s hard to remember, but George W. Bush also claimed that his administration was going to be run soundly, on the lines of the sacred American business corporation, institutions that only act for the public good and which should therefore be exempt from taxation or regulation. Mitt is also fond of trumpeting his corporate experience, but the government is NOT a business, and the public has come to have a less rosy view of big corporations than they did in the nineties, which may be why Mitt’s mess isn’t catching on.

Another thing George was always talking about in the beginning was how he was a leader who didn’t listen to polls and just led decisively and how proud he was of that, a view echoed by Fox news and the rest of his toady crowd. Of course the direction rather than the firmness of the leadership is what’s important, as became evident when W lead us so firmly and single mindedly over a cliff. The new favorite of the right wing corporate media toadies, Rudy Giuliani, also styles his greatest asset as his steely leadership, which trumps his lack of experience on a national level and his other unsavory personality flaws. His willingness to lead us into torture, lack of civil liberties and endless conflict make his resolve a lot less attractive, however. Real leaders don’t pat themselves on the back and blab about it endless either – they just lead.

And what about John McCain? What part of the Bush disaster has he been saddled with, despite his outsider image? One word, and it’s a hard one to swallow these days: IRAQ.