That’s it.

After today’s announcement in support of the anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendment, I no longer mind if George W. Bush loses this November. I can understand how Andrew Sullivan and Roger L. Simon feel.

I’ve indicated what I think about the government and marriage elsewhere. I don’t see any reason for the government to be involved in defining “marriage” any more than defining “Kosher”. I certainly don’t think it’s appropriate to use the Constitution to entrench a religion-informed prejudice.

What does Bush stand for? Steel tarrifs, prescription drug entitlements, huge government over-spending, religious bigotry. Yes, he supported tax cuts, fighting terrorism, and he reads good things in his speeches. But his actions indicate that he either doesn’t understand the values he mentions, or he doesn’t really care about them. I think he did a good job of choosing people who understand how to address the terrorist threat, and delivering their message; but I can’t continue trying to respect him as an individual. By supporting this amendment, he’s demonstrated his unfitness for the office. I suspect that if he loses the election, the Democrat (Kerry?) is unlikely to do a much worse job of protecting liberty than Bush would. The war on terror will continue to be fought by the same people who are fighting it now, and perhaps civil liberties will be more secure.

The most positive explanation for his behavior that I can imagine is that he is pandering to the religious right to win support for his re-election and he doesn’t really expect this amendment to pass. That’s the best explanation and it still leaves him as a slimy jerk. The more probable explanation is that he’s worse. He’s either the worst sort of politician, or a religious nut, or a combination of both.