[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

ruthless businessman

To call a ruthless despot a ruthless businessman is much like saying sometimes is means is not.

[RS]

"To call a ruthless despot a ruthless businessman is much like saying sometimes is means is not."

Not sure exactly what you mean, but his tactics in dealings with the outside world are certainly businesslike.
- Perhaps "gangsterlike" would be a closer description.

My point was to draw a distinction between him and the religious fanatics that we see in the Middle East.
Pres. Bush knows the difference, which is why they are being handled in different ways.