It's all - all of it - about him.

p m carpenter's commentary, via Political Strategy:

I had forgotten about published conversations between presidential-candidate George W. Bush and his autobiographical ghostwriter, Mickey Herskowitz, until a reader reminded me via a reprinted article from October, 2004. Journalist Herskowitz had met with Bush numerous times in 1999 in preparation for a campaign-puff volume, and much of what he heard and later made public -- though not without genuine reservations -- made him realize that “Bush's true views … and basic essence had eluded the American people.”

- snip -

One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief. My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it. If I have a chance to invade, if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency.

I can't be the only one to have noticed how frequently the Prince Regent uses the word "I" in his speech. It strikes me every time I hear him speak. Has there ever been a president - or, for that matter, any politician - who referenced every thought, every initiative, in terms of himself?

It doesn't take a mental health professional to see that there's pathology at work here. Megalomania? We have here, let's be honest, a war waged because one man's ego required it.