Since I have no interest in discussing the finer points of economic theory (about which no two economists agree), I thought I'd jump back a few posts...

Ann, you're not alone in your beliefs about Bush's beliefs.

From here :

Quote
Time magazine reported that "Privately, Bush even talked of being chosen by the grace of God to lead at that moment."
From here :

Quote
"... Bush closed the session by reportedly testifying to having a very close relationship to God. 'I trust God speaks through me,' he said. 'Without that, I couldn't do my job.'"

...

The Israeli paper Ha'aretz reported last year that the President said to then-Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, "God told me to strike Al Qaeda and I struck, and then he instructed me to strike Saddam, which I did."

...

According to Paul Harris of the British Observer, "Bush said to James Robinson: 'I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen... I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it.'"
(The article referred to in the last paragraph is here .)

And from here :

Quote
There is no need to speculate about the degree to which religious sentiment guides US foreign policy. Insiders have revealed that state and war planners, focused on the Middle East, bring their strategies and tactics to the President, and he and members of his administration pray over their vision and translate the text into articles of faith.

...

On Frum’s first day in the White House, one of Bush’s aides chastised his mentor Gerson for missing Bible study. “Attendance at such sessions was ‘if not compulsory, not quite uncompulsory either,’” Frum is quoted as saying. That Frum is Jewish, but was nevertheless expected to wade through the New Testament with the President and his advisors, speaks volumes about the extent and degree to which the Bible organizes Bush’s foreign and domestic policies. Frum, who worked with the President for 13 months, says that Bush “believes that the future is in ‘stronger hands than his own.’”
There's more, but I think that covers the essentials.

So, yes. It seems that, on some level, Bush believes that he was chosen by God to lead the country, and that the Iraq war is part of what is in his mind a religious crusade.

A couple of side notes:

He's also spoken out in favor of teaching Intelligent design .

At the beginning of his presidency, he created the Faith-Based Community Initiative , a government program specifically designed to give aid (monetary and otherwise) to faith-based non-profit organizations (and thus promote them over secular ones).

I'll refrain from adding own personal feelings about all of this (which are probably clear enough anyway), but I thought it worth mentioning for consideration.

When in doubt, think about penguins. It probably won't help, but at least it'll be fun.