Why it's dangerous for rulers to believe they're divinely inspired

via The Vanity Press, this is really the perfect summation of the Bush years:

Pelosi also said she was puzzled by what she considered the president's minimalist explanation for his confidence in the new surge of 21,500 U.S. troops that he has presented as the crux of a new "way forward" for U.S. forces in Iraq.

"He's tried this two times — it's failed twice," the California Democrat said. "I asked him at the White House, 'Mr. President, why do you think this time it's going to work?' And he said, 'Because I told them it had to.' "

Asked if the president had elaborated, she added that he simply said, " 'I told them that they had to.' That was the end of it. That's the way it is."

I don't know about you, but when I hear that I think of Czar Nicholas II. When the Kaiser (his cousin) asked if he understood the risks of war with Japan he responded that there would be no war, "because I do not yet wish it." Shortly thereafter, the Japanese attacked. Oops.