It’s one thing to do something stupid in the privacy of your own home, but living in the white house and inviting the press to watch means that your stoopid action gets you coverage all the way to Africa.

What exactly is Bush’s message in awarding medals to Bremer, Tennet, and Franks? That loyalty trumps results? This was more than a “recognition of service” award. This was the highest civilian honor Bush could offer. What the hell is he going to do for someone who actually delivers useful results? (It’s ironically fortunate that he’s unlikely to face that conundrum.)

On the other hand, this is very much in line with how he’s positioned his incoming Cabinet. They are fiercely loyal to him above all else. So there is consistency in his giving out these medals. He knows what he likes, and he’s rewarding that. But that should make the rest of us afraid.

At the risk of painting with too broad a brush, I feel this is one of the inherent dangers of true evangelicals in leadership positions. Evangelicals, by definition, are followers. Their faith is based on blind trust. They are taught not to question, but to accept. And I think that translates to a tendency to confuse faith and loyalty. If you are loyal to a leader, then you must have faith in him. And that transposes pretty quickly to the blind trust thing.

As an evangelical, results are not really the measure of a person. Intention is, faith is, but not results. You can be a fairly hideous person, but if your faith is strong and your intentions are good, then you will have been saved. And while this can be a spiritually uplifting message to deliver to the great unwashed on a Sunday morning, it’s a damn poor foundation for leadership. And I think this is where poor addle-brained Mr. Bush gets so gosh darned confused.