by Robert C. Sage

Created on: November 10, 2007

King George III and President George W. Bush have so many parallels that it is uncanny. Both were born into expectations of grandeur and both sent thousands of soldiers to die on another continent fighting insurgents who believed they were fighting tyranny and sought national independence, without occupation by the world's only super power. Both Georges enabled their friends and associates to be enriched at the public's expense and sought to extend his overseas empire, regardless of what the locals wanted. Both Georges tried to exercise detailed control over society and allowed for mistreatment of the locals. Both exercised personal law issuing authority and ignored the elected assembly. Both reduced civil liberties for citizens.

The audaciousness of publicly rewarding politically connected aristocratic power elite from the treasury of the realm was in common between George III and W. Now, it is Halliburton (Dick Cheney was it's CEO), the Carlisle Group and Blackwater that are prominently being enriched by the Bush Administration. There were grants from the King George III to members of the power elite of his day. Vice President Dick Cheney has personally been enriched through deferred income schemes and stock awards by the awarding of numerous no-bid contracts to Halliburton and its subsidiaries, like KBR. Such conflicts of interest were also badges of honor in the day of George III. The same man was governor, judge and tax collector. Corruption, deception and fabrication for political benefit are things that both Georges allowed of loyalists.

King George III fought a new type of war (war or liberation/independence) against America and President George W. Bush also fought a new type of war (many diverse insurgencies seeking liberation/freedom from oppression) against Iraq. Both Georges thought that they were acting legitimately against the interests of the people. They both were aloof and did not mix easily with common people on a regular basis. Both were out of touch with the intent of the people.
Both Georges spent heavily on his military, its equipment and war operations.

Both Georges had important decisions to make that affected the course of history. Both Georges chose confrontation and intervention in the internal affairs of foreign lands. Each George was a scion in a hereditary political leadership role and each thought he was acting within his authority, when he curtailed civil rights in the name of heightened security. Each George authorized secret espionage activities against his opponents. Each George was at the pinnacle of socio-political status in his country at the time and each ruled decisively and in bold strokes. The Georges did not like being doubted by others. Each felt unfairly blamed.

Each George was the governmental leader of his country and traveled within the privileged, moneyed classes. The two Georges each felt challenged by upstart rebels who fought his soldiers. Each made decisions that convinced contemporaries that he was clinically insane.
Each George was despised by many in the country seeking to defeat his orderly troops. Each George faced highly critical opponents. King George III was identified with the "Punitive Acts", also known as the "Coercive Acts" or the "Intolerable Acts" by the colonists. George W. Bush has been identified with "waterboarding", "Harsh Interrogations", "extraordinary renditions", black camps, suspension of Habeas Corpus and the "War on Terror". In both cases,
the Georges' legacies were affected by coercive legislation enacted under his leadership, symptomatic of strategies to benefit the power elite that collected around him.

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