Prophet in a righteous land: George W. Bush's rhetoric and the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

Through an examination of his speeches in the first half of 2003, American President George W. Bush is shown to assume and use major themes of biblical prophecy in his rhetoric. Bush presents himself as a prophet to his people by describing God's participation in their national affairs and by interpreting God's will. He uses language reminiscent of the Bible, but in his role as prophet Bush borrows from the prophetic books only very selectively, and delivers some messages that sit in opposition to the messages of many of the prophets. Bush constantly assures his audience that they are righteous before God, and that they should go abroad in a mission to spread God's gift of freedom. Even though this message has no biblical parallel, Bush's prophetic message is internally consistent overall, and in many ways better suits his modem audience than the more classic messages of the biblical prophets.