What country is this again?

From "One Nation Under Bush" [1]:

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.-"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."

Seriously, you gotta wonder what's at work here. Mass psychosis? Some kinda weird personality cult kinda thing? Reciting the Bush Pledge is not a "red state" thing. It's an un-American thing.

-----------
[1] slate · msn · com/id/2108852