CRUTCHES? THEY'RE FOUNDATIONS:

Freedom, Liberty, Freedom: George W. Bush yet again used the crutches of "liberty" and
"freedom" to frame his candidacy. (George Lakoff, September 3, 2004, AlterNet)

Freedom was the thread linking his domestic policies to his foreign policy. In domestic matters, it is freedom from the United States government.

George W. Bush: I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives.

In all these proposals, we seek to provide not just a government program, but a path – a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life.

We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account nest egg you can call your own, and government can never take away.

Conservatives have long sought to destroy Social Security and Medicare, for two reasons: First, from their moral perspective, all social programs take away the need for discipline and create dependency. Since discipline is seen as the basis of all morality, all such programs are immoral. Second, there is a business motive. Businesses can make more money if they can get their hands on all the Medicare and Social Security money as investments in them, not in the people whose health and future are insured. The conservative solution is to privatize both programs, creating "personal accounts." More freedom.

The motivation for government-run Social Security was that each generation would pay for the next. In Medicare, as in any insurance program, the lucky (those not injured or diseased) would pay for those less lucky. In addition, there were the twin motivations of economy of scale and of protection, from stock market declines, bad judgment, and from an individual's squandering. But in conservatism, those not sufficiently disciplined deserve what happens to them. If you're undisciplined enough to squander your personal savings account or not shrewd enough to invest wisely, then you deserve to lose your health and retirement money. [...]

George W. Bush: The story of America is the story of expanding liberty: an ever-widening circle, constantly growing to reach further and include more. Our nation's founding commitment is still our deepest commitment: In our world, and here at home, we will extend the frontiers of freedom.

That was 40 percent of the speech. The rest was on the War on Terror, though he never once used the phrase. The frame inspiring terror had been well established on previous nights, leaving Bush to talk about spreading freedom.

Significantly, he did not once use the phrase "war on terror," but did use the word "liberty" 11 times and "free" or "freedom" 23 times. Here are a few instances of them:

George W. Bush: And we are working to advance liberty in the broader Middle East, because freedom will bring a future of hope, and the peace we all want. And we will prevail.

...Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies, which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists instead of harboring them, and that helps us keep the peace. ...The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march. [...]

How does the president know that victory is inevitable? Because God is on our side.

George W. Bush: ...I believe that America is called to lead the cause of freedom in a new century. I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world.

And why is God on our side? Because we have the main conservative virtue: inner strength and discipline and the conservative compassion to promote opportunity for other disciplined people; in other words, George W. Bush's "heart of gold and spine of tempered steel," as Zell Miller put it.

George W. Bush: ...in those military families, I have seen the character of a great nation: decent, and idealistic, and strong.

The world saw that spirit three miles from here, when the people of this city faced peril together, and lifted a flag over the ruins, and defied the enemy with their courage. My fellow Americans, for as long as our country stands, people will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say: Here buildings fell, and here a nation rose.

And all of this has confirmed one belief beyond doubt: Having come this far, our tested and confident Nation can achieve anything. This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom.

The code words from conservative Christianity are easy to decipher: 9/11 was God's test of our mettle. Did we have enough inner strength? The response in New York (led by Mayor Giuliani) and the courage of our military shows that we have so far. Our nation is like every good person, every disciplined individual: it too can pull itself up by its bootstraps, "can achieve anything." The Resurrection of New York City signals the Resurrection of America in this election. God is calling to us "from beyond the stars to stand for freedom." To meet God's call, we must show our inner strength and resoluteness by voting for a leader with that character – not the flip-flopper, but George W. Bush!

That's quite a good analysis of the themes of the speech. From there it's a pretty easy choice whether you believe with President in God and liberty or with the Left in the State.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 7, 2004 8:41 AM