Outside Counsel

Something I have long puzzled over is how it is possible for Republicans to be in a majority. Over the course of my lifetime the GOP has always done the exact opposite of what its candidates promised. Nixon escalated the war, and instead of fighting crime appointed actual criminals to office. (Have any other Attorney Generals actually done time?) In fact, Nixon was himself a crook, something he proved by denying it. Ford was not elected, and therefore made no promises. We will skip him. St. Reagan presided over record deficits and growth in the size of government, and then Bush pere did the same thing-- and increased taxes. Shouldn't we have realized that when the present Bush promised to "restore honor to the Presidency" that it could only mean disaster? Why do people fall for this stuff? Melinda Henneberger finds a voter who says, ""I never did like George Bush, and he's turned out to be a disaster I contributed to." Still, she's voting Republican again this year because the lesson she takes from the failures of the Bush presidency is that experience in national politics is everything. And McCain has more of it. "George Bush didn't have enough experience, and look what happened. Obama has two years in the Senate and two years campaigning," and that's not enough, especially given "the mess we're in now."

See, and there's my answer: People are idiots. Does Henneberger's voter seriously think that the hole we are in is the result of Bush's inexperience? Good grief! Certainly it is true that Bush was inexperienced, but now that he has gained the constitutional maximum experience does she think that he'd be a better President? All Presidents are inexperienced to one extent or another. What distinguishes this President is that (a) he is profoundly ignorant; (b) he is incurious; and (c) he is convinced that his religious faith compensates for (a) and (b). He is incapable of believing he can be wrong, because his most deeply held belief is that he must be right.

Inexperience has nothing to with why Bush will leave office with the nation in its worst straits since-- when? The Depression? The Civil War? The fact is that Bush was surrounded by what may have been one of the most experienced Cabinets in history, but because he was weak-minded the country was manipulated by Cheney into a terrifying parody of its best instincts. McCain is a version of the same person as Bush, and anyone who can't see that has probably been voting Republican and wondering why it hasn't worked for his entire life. These are the people who think that the photo of the liberated McCain shaking Nixon's hand is somehow validating.

They'll have an exciting choice next go-round. It looks to me as though Caribou Barbie is enjoying the attention and will be back for more, or perhaps they'd prefer the classic rock stylings of Mike Huckabee. It is interesting to contemplate the careers of GOP second bananas. Nixon sat out 64, but came back like black jumpsuit Elvis. Bill Miller went home to Jamestown and was never heard from again. Agnew went to jail. Rocky had a bellyful, and spent his final years with his stamp collection. Dole missed a turn because Bush screwed him over. For some reason Quayle never got any traction. Funny about that. Dole finally got his turn. I'm sure it pleased him. Kemp doesn't even come to Bills old-timer games anymore. I'm not sure why Cheney hasn't had martial law declared. My hunch is that he will retire to a palace in Saudi Arabia where he will be attended by an army of eunuchs.