Bush continues to delude himself that his war in Iraq and his support of Israel's settlements in the West Bank (a complete about-face in U.S. policy) are all helping to promote his vaulted freedom and democracy. All this is of course sanctioned by Bush's God and, as evidenced by the President's statements to Bob Woodward, what we really have here is a modern-day crusade.

Egypt's president says Arabs hold a "hatred never equaled" toward America. Jordan's king abruptly postpones a visit to the White House. And those are among the United States' best friends in the Arab world.

The war in Iraq, and a shift on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, has left the Bush administration facing growing hostility and an estrangement from friends across the Middle East.

"There is enormous anger in the Arab world that needs to be dealt with," said Nail Al-Jubeir, a spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington.

The White House minimized the problem Tuesday, saying President Bush did not feel snubbed by King Abdullah II's decision to leave the United States early and skip a planned meeting with Bush at the White House this week. Spokesman Scott McClellan said the meeting was merely postponed until May and chalked it up to "domestic issues" in Jordan. (AP via the San Francisco Chronicle)

So, not only does the Bush team not see anything wrong with alienating the entire Arab world (hell, they're used to it), but they resort to lying about it (and not very well) by way of an explanation. They either think we're incredibly stupid, or they really are that desperate.