Jim,

        I have little knowledge about the conspiracy you seem to be
suggesting.  But I do believe that the President sincerely wanted to
liberate an oppressed people.  And to this point, it seems like that is
what has happened.
     My father just yesterday sent me an article from his Phoenix
paper, The Arizona Republic.  It is an interview with Hal Holbrook.
Holbrook captures my own sentiments and to some extent, I
believe, Twain's.  Jounalist Kyle Lawson asks Holbrook to speculate
on what position Twain might take on the current war if he were
alive.
      Holbrook notes that "Twain hated war" and saw it as a "failure of
other pursuits."  "But he also despised brutality and tyranny," as
Holbrook puts it, " and the "inhumane behavior that Saddam
Hussein has exhibited throughout his reign.  He would hate this
despot, just as he would have hated Hitler."  Holbrook explains that
"given the humanitarian feelings that can be found in all his work,
how could he be against going over to knock that man out?"
     Holbrook goes on to note that America has become soft and
many are no longer willing to stand up for the "idealism this country
has lived by."  The President is an exception here, as Holbrok sees
him.  Holbrook concludes by saying that he does not always "agree
with President Bush" but admires his courage. The President has
the "courage to take a stand come hell or high water.  That 's a rare
thing in politics and I do admire him for it.  In some ways, it makes
him a lit like Mark Twain."
     And in some ways, I believe Twain would have admired the
President's courage.


Jason G. Horn
Associate Professor of English
Division of Humanities
Gordon College
Barnesville, Georgia 30204