Cowboy Bush Rides from a Late-Victorian Novel

Magazine-writer traces similarities between Bush Doctrine and The Virginian

MONTREAL, QC -- American and international observers have been watching in dismay as Bush policies have led the United States into what looks like an ever-worsening quagmire in Iraq. Writing in Maisonneuve Magazine, Scott Eden sheds light on the roots of the Bush doctrine by taking us on a narrative tour of the Bush White House and its cowboy ethos. In fact, he traces the philosophical roots of Bushs diplomacy to the first cowboy book, the 1902 bestseller The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, that launched the 20th century American mania for the Western.

In a funny and at times worrisome series of observations, Eden provides quotes from Bushs recent speeches and juxtaposes them with the hokey homilies of the late Victorian novel that are used to justify the cowboys killing spree of cattle rustlers.

Its easy to look at the cartoonish elements in Bush," Eden says. Like his reference to the Old West Dead or Alive wanted poster. But what is playing out with Bushs new doctrine of pre-emptive war is a new civilizing mission and dangerous case of cowboy justice."

Edens magazine piece is both witty and wise. He warns that policies forged on century old sentiments could leave the United States riding alone into the sunset.

Scott Edens article will be on the newsstands in Maisonneuve Magazine on November 21. It is the sixth issue of the magazine, which this month was nominated for the Utne Independent Press Awards Best New Title. Maisonneuve Magazine was launched in Montreal in April 2002 by publisher Derek Webster.

Scott Eden is an excellent radio interview. If you would like to arrange for an interview with him, please contact the Maisonneuve Magazine publicity department at the number given below.

About Maisonneuve
Maisonneuve is a high-end general-interest magazine championing eclectic curiosity. Published in English out of Montreal, it has a remarkably diverse readership and can be found in thousands of stores across Canada and the US. Intelligent, eclectic, slightly eccentric, cross-border and international in content, Maisonneuve appeals to sophisticated, curious, generalist readers. Website: www.maisonneuve.org
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