The Albanians can have him if they love him that much. George W. Bush, that is. They went crazy over his recent visit and swarmed him at every appearance. The American president was treated like a rock star. Some of this hysterical adulation may be left over from the four decades that Enver Hoxha ruled Albania. From 1944 until his death in 1985, the Stalinist dictator ran the most closed society in modern history. It was nearly impossible to enter or leave Albania. Without modern information flow, the country became a darkened theater. When Hoxha declared that Albania was to be an atheistic state, he imprisoned or killed nearly every Christian in the country. One report estimated that only 16 known Christians were left in the country in the late 1960s. This situation alone could cause some Albanians to hysterically adulate powerful politicians at the drop of a hat. Bush and Albania make a lovely couple. Bush has a limited understanding of the average American citizen and average Albanians have traditionally known little about their political leaders. Bush frequently assumes an imperial, almost dictator-like, manner and shuns those who disagree with him. A long line of generals and advisers can attest to the risks of rejecting the role of “yes-man” for the leader of the free world. None of this would be unsettling to average Albanians from the Hoxha years. In fact, they would be surprised if dissident voices were given a fair hearing and sometimes carried the day. When it comes to power, Bush and the Albanians are on the same page. Bush wields his power confidently and without regard for other views. Albanians learned about power the hard way, but still have a healthy respect for people who have it and know how to use it. Loyalty is another trait that has been embraced by these unlikely suitors. During those 40 years under Hoxha, the people of Albania ate, drank and breathed loyalty. Or else. Bush’s loyalty clearly is his most dominant value. But it flows to unworthy and failed cronies — like an attorney general who hems and haws to Congress or a bureaucrat who failed the people of New Orleans. A little loyalty to our system of justice or to notions of equal protection might be preferable, but loyalty is loyalty. The most disturbing Bush administration tip of the hat to Soviet-era spin has been its cold characterization of the president’s troop surge in Iraq. Bush’s generals du jour are telling us to measure this latest gambit in terms of a few months. “Give it a chance” they tell us, as they assure Americans that we will know by mid-summer or early fall whether this will work. But if they asked if the surge is worth the deaths of our finest and the lost futures of their families, “give it a chance” would take on a whole new meaning. Mother Teresa, Albania’s favorite daughter, got it right when she said, “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”

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