Bush as Truman as martyr

The White House, and Bush specifically, have been pushing the Truman analogy hard over the last week, and alot of people have been talking about the Durbin exchange, but I think this is the most perceptive analysis.

Bush's wartime role model is President Harry Truman. On Friday he opened a meeting with congressional leaders by noting that Truman's Korean War leadership was scorned late in his presidency, but vindicated by history.

"Mr. Bush, I think, is attracted to the martyrdom of Harry Truman's presidency and the enormous reversal of his status amongst historians 20 years later," said Richard Kohn.

Martyrdom. It fits with his religious philosophy, his inflated sense of "place in history," and recreates him as morally vindicated regardless of any reality. It is a self-serving belief.

I'm try not to put Bush too far "on the couch," and I'm not trying to say that Bush has gone insane, but something about this just horrified me. If Bush really does view his presidency through a Truman/martyr lens, negative changes will only reinforce his "resolve."

And, at this point, who would he listen to to tell him that he's gotten it all wrong?