Sadly, pretty much anyone at that level of politics thinks of the rest of us as children.
The only real differences are that some think of us as their own children, and do things for our own good without feeling any particular need to explain why (Because I'm your mom, and I said so!) and some think of us as incipient juvinile delinquents who need to be controlled for their own good.
Agreed, one thing for the life of me I can not figure out, is why Bush appoints good judges that will defend the Constitution and at the same time pursues policies that subvert that same Constitution. It drives me crazy trying to figure out where Bush is coming from. Yea, Harret Miers, I know, I know. Could be Bush is really clueless and shooting from the hip most of the time. I am slowly beginning to think that is the only explanation that make sense. Certainly he is without any governing philosophy that I know of.