Diversity as a good unto itself is annoying enough when we are talking about multiculturalism, but it is particularly annoying in the religious context. Diversity, tolerance, pluralism, etc. as a virtue (in fact the ultimate virtue) must ultimately corrupt the religion itself. Clear in our "Christain" President's statement is the implication that it doesn't matter what you believe because none of it is actually true anyway (wink, wink). But for us throwbacks who actually think our religion happens to be the Truth, diversity means a diversity of error. And is to be mourned, not celebrated.

As for the speech, it was pure garbage regardless of the few facts it contained, and we have four more years of that tripe to look forward to.

Let see, whose upsetting religious diversity in the Middle East? If I am not mistaken, it was America's Evangelical President who invaded Iraq and destroyed and uprooted the one of the worlds oldest Christian communities. Please do not lecture the Egyptians on religious diversity, you'll end up getting all the Copts wiped out too.

Great article Mr. Cockburn! Today we have a bunch of extremist Al-Jabr who disagree with our interpretation of the Holy Universal Al-Jabr. But as the great philosopher-mathematician President Bush opined "We worship the same Al-Jabr." Although they claim our Al-Jabr is polynomial and theirs is the true monomial Al-Jabr.