Wednesday June 29th 2005, 9:32 am

Response to Bush’s absurd speech yesterday is coming in fast and furious, although it will not make a whit of difference. "I think the American people are a lot smarter than that," said Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden in response to Bush’s dishonest linkage of the Iraqi occupation to nine eleven. "They’ve figured this out." If so, they seem uniquely unmotivated to do anything about it. "There is absolutely no connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda," said Lynne Jones, a British Laborite. "What they have ensured, in invading Iraq, is they have actually promoted al Qaeda’s involvement in other countries, including Iraq." No evidence of this either. "The truth is, as everyone can see, that Zarqawi and the other extremist formations that have sprouted in Iraq are the result of the invasion, not the reason for it," said British MP George Galloway, who should know better. "The swamp of hatred against the West has been vastly deepened by the actions of those two world leaders, Bush and Blair." Can’t argue there. "Iraq has been a conflict without timelines, without an exit strategy and indeed without a mission statement from day one," said Australian Labor Party spokesman Tom Cameron. "Australia needs to refocus on the region and the war on terror instead of getting bogged down in the bloody quagmire of Iraq’s insurgency." I guess Tom misheard Bush—according to our fearless leader, the Iraqi insurgency is the main focus of the so-called "war on terror," and soon enough al-Qaeda and al-Zarqawi, as largely manufactured hobgoblins, will emerge elsewhere in the Muslim world. As David Gergen, a sort of political horse trader who has worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations (once again emphasizing there is little to no difference between factions within the plutocracy), tells us: "(September 11) has been all along his trump card. He played it in the campaign; he’s playing it again now." Gergen’s comment brings to mind the nine eleven cui bono (who benefits) argument. But let’s not go there, lest we be wide-brushed as conspiracy nuts. Instead, our political elite have stayed on topic, even if they deviate slightly on occasion—for instance John Kerry, presidential has-been: "The first, of course, was weapons of mass destruction. The second was democracy, and now, tonight, it’s to combat the hotbed of terrorism. But most Americans are aware that the hotbed of terrorism never existed in Iraq until we got there." As I recall, John "Forbes" "Skull and Bones" Kerry voted for this illegal invasion and occupation and, as such, bought into Bush’s passel of lies and distortions, including the "hotbed of terrorism" non-argument. But then politicians fronting for America, Inc., are like weathervanes: they switch and swivel around depending on the direction of the wind, especially when the wind is hot and filled with a rancid smell. Nothing short of millions of people filling streets will make a difference—and even that will be ignored by the Bushcons.