Karen Hughes challenged

Karen Hughes, who is one of my least favorite Bush people, has been hired to improve how Americans are seen overseas. At this meeting with some Saudi women she received a little comeuppance for her American arrogance. Don't get me wrong, I would like Americans to be viewed more positively as well, and I am glad that the Administration at least recognizes this problem. Given that Bush took office with his middle finger extended to the rest of the world, it is no wonder we are viewed negatively. I met a young French student the other day and she said that the French find Bush completely ridiculous and they also hold the American people responsible. Can't argue with her on that.

But back to Karen Hughes. Here are a few highlights:

Many in this region say they resent the American assumption that, given the chance, everyone would live like Americans.

That sense of American arrogance is part of our downfall. We assume that our country is the best at everything and that everyone wants to be us. People start to resent that. I know some people who act that way and I don't like it.

Ms. Hughes, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, is on her first trip to the Middle East. She seemed clearly taken aback as the women told her that just because they were not allowed to vote or drive that did not mean they were treated unfairly or imprisoned in their own homes.

Interesting. I must say that I need some more education on Muslim society as well, and have not been fond of how women are treated in those societies. But we must be careful in assuming that everyone wants to be us--or that everyone defines freedom the way we do.

I found this next exchange interesting. After all, do we all remember how Ari Fleischer addressed American use of oil and driving?

Q Is one of the problems with this, and the entire energy field, American lifestyles? Does the President believe that, given the amount of energy Americans consume per capita, how much it exceeds any other citizen in any other country in the world, does the President believe we need to correct our lifestyles to address the energy problem?

MR. FLEISCHER: That's a big no. The President believes that it's an American way of life, and that it should be the goal of policy makers to protect the American way of life. The American way of life is a blessed one.

See, driving and using oil is an American birthright, or divine right, or some stupid shit like that. But the point here is that it should be no surprise that Hughes talked about how important driving was to her. She called it an "important part of her freedom." But one of the audience members, clearly an elite, but still someone who saw the situation differently.

"I don't want to drive a car," she said. "I worked hard for my medical degree. Why do I need a driver's license?"

This last exchange bothered me the most, I think. Even though it was clearly an attempt at humor, it kind of betrays how the Bush admin really sees the country. They would be perfectly happy if any media criticism didn't exist. I don't think they really understand democracy and have confused their election with some kind of divine mandate. That scares me. One of the women in Saudi Arabia asked about the media:

A woman in the audience then charged that under President Bush the United States had become "a right-wing country" and that criticism by the press was "not allowed."

"I have to say I sometimes wish that were the case, but it's not," Ms. Hughes said with a laugh.

Hah.