The cult of Winston Churchill, although strong among Anglo-American conservatives since the end of the second world war, flourished as never before in the United States after the attacks of 9/11. To show his resolve in the war on terror, President Bush asked the British embassy to supply him with a bronze bust of Churchill, which now comforts the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. Republican leaders like Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani worship Churchill with a devotional intensity that would embarrass a medieval peasant on a pilgrimage.
These political figures pour over Churchillian anecdotes (some of which are as apocryphal as any saint's tale) in search of wisdom and guidance, and take comfort in the stock phrases of the Churchill legend: the folly of Munich-like appeasement; never surrender; finest hour; blood, sweat and tears. For wartime leaders, the appeal of invoking Churchill is clear, especially if you accept the standard account of his career: he was a scorned Cassandra who accurately prophesied the dangers of Hitler, stood alone as leader against Nazi-occupied Europe in the lonely aftermath of the French defeat and ultimately led his country to a great victory. What leader wouldn't want to be labelled the new Churchill?
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