It didn't really sink in until I saw the White House that I was at the heart of the US government and near, as they say, the leader of the free world. When I think of George Bush, I think of this TV character, this noncorporeal figure that is everywhere and yet nowhere. Not that I ascribe to him any supernatural powers (indeed, he has few natural powers), but rather that I'm used to thinking of GW as a President, a mythical figure, and not some ordinary (painfully so) guy.

Feeling the way I do, I can begin to understand the massive palaces and pyramids built in the name of rulers: their strength and allure comes not from their physical traits, but what they represent. A palace isn't built for some guy, it's built for the Emperor. It's so big because it houses someone literally larger than life. The guy that sits in the throne is just a shade of the throne's true owner.