Holy shit. Against my better judgement I checked out Bush's speech to the UN General Assembly over on c-span.org. Oi. Fucking embarassing, actually. He's condescending, smirking, raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders. His strongest moments come when he scolds those nations who didn't support his invasion of Iraq. The faces of the other world leaders are stony, flaccid. It's probably not smart to do, but the scolding is his strongest moment.

The speech itself full of empty pollyanna catchphrases, but the worst are the ones I can just imagine cynical delegates turning around on Bush:

• We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace. And yet by that standard would you do not count yourself among the dictators, Mr. Bush?
• The believe that suicide and torture and murder and justified to serve any goal they declare. And they act on their beliefs. As you act on yours, sending your own nation's children to die, kill and torture.
• No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for another. Then can we expect you to bring forth a moratorium on bombs and missiles as well as cloning?
• We will stand with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq until their hopes of freedom and security are fulfilled. Whether they like it or not!
• For too long many nations, including my own, tolerated, even excused oppression in the middle east in the name of stability. Will the cameras now pan to Saudi Arabia, or perhaps Uzbekistan, I wonder?

Another wasted opportunity to inch us back towards the rest of the civilized world. I didn't expect anything different, but it's still disappointing and dispiriting to watch.