David Brooks used his NYT column today to talk about President George W. Bush’s "unshakable self-confidence." (Sorry; you have to subscribe to TimesSelect or buy the print version to see it.)
How, you say, does Mr. Bush’s esteem for his beliefs relate to business trial law, the nominal theme of Blawgletter? Only this: it may help us understand why Mr. Bush so often acts in ways that, to us, suggest disrespect for the rule of law.
They key for us comes in Mr. Brooks’s seventh paragraph, in which he quotes Mr. Bush as follows:
It’s more of a theological perspective. I do believe there is an almighty, and I believe a gift of that Almighty to all is freedom. And I will tell you that is a principle that no one can convice me that doesn’t exist.
The view harkens to the notion of divine law, which originates in the will of God. The laws of men, by definition, cannot compete with divine law and must give way to it — or, at least, to the believer-in-chief’s conception of it.
God help us.
Barry Barnett
