We don't need your parenting, Dubya

Yah, I know this is already out of the news cycle but as I was reviewing Lakoff's analysis of the RNC, I recalled an Andrew Card statement that sounded really weird at first. Courtesy of blondesense, one of my favorite source of news:

A sign of the impending revolution: Andrew Card said yesterday that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent.

But wait. It all makes sense. Take Lakoff on night deux:

In short: in the conservative worldview, the world is and always will be a dangerous and difficult place, a competitive environment in which there will always be winners and losers. The father's job, and by extension the government's, is to protect and support the family, and it is his moral duty to teach his children right from wrong, using physical discipline when necessary, so that they will gain the internal discipline to do right rather than just "what feels good." Such discipline also allows people to pursue their self-interest to become self-reliant and prosperous.

Lakoff has been avoiding his 'strict father' model for the most part (I don't know if this was related but at one point in blogland, the moniker for his model got tossed around and treated like it was a piece of turd, after which it became toxic to talk about his model). However, in this case, the father analogy fits since the Republicans are using it to communicate with the many: we are 'children'. Ick.

Update: Ya gotta love Paperwight for the letter he penned regarding America's problem child.