Sad obsequiem: Both Bush and Cheney are men whose lapses in judgment led to them being arrested and/or cited, in their supposedly more naive days, for drunk-driving. It makes one wonder why more people aren't more MADD about this-- and more aware of the capacity for these "gentlemen" to commit serious and dangerous errors of judgment (no doubt the results of slipshod, suspect and surely sullied intelligence, offenses of which the Not-So-Good Doctor is guilty, too, but to which he's never made applicable to steel tonnage). Those errors are more resonant when one observes that, for the Prez at least, the coincidence of the timing of these citations suggests that we should be considering, if we are to consider Senator Kerry's judgment lo those decades ago, the President's misconsiderations (to understate matters seriously) as well. Unfortunately, the Democrats seem to be letting this slide, idiots that they are, stooping to conquer themselves. (And the Republicans, apparently, don't give a whit about Mr. Bush's nasty past: he, after all, got religion, which makes him honky-dory now, though he's done scrap-all to warrant such forgiveness.) Bush isn't a reformed Hal, following the lesson of the Chief Justice rather than Falstaff when the time comes, and he surely had none of Falstaff's wit or intellectual cleavage. Instead, he's rather more like Henry VI with too much Toby Belch (or maybe just Sir Andrew?) about his past, and too much Malvolio about him now-- to say nothing of his Dogberryan propensity for abusing thought and language, or at least mauling both with a grizzly bear's dexterity. What are the incompetent constable's words?
Dost thou not suspect my place? Dost thou not suspect my years? O that he were here to write me down an ass. But masters, remember that I am an ass: though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass.You're lucky, Dubby: it seems people are forgetting that you are an ass. This cold season will turn us all to fools and mad men.
And, BTW: As much as I might disagree with him on certain points, watching Senator McCain's address to the RNC on Monday, I was reminded all too well that it's not Republicans per se that are objectionable, but the command to which they've surrendered. McCain at least made a considered and understandable case. And he did so very civilly, with even his jab at Michael Moore, calling him a "disingenuous film-maker," rather appropriate: the word "disingenuous" changes everything, because it questions the director's sincerity, as many of us do (and even Moore himself does, always calling into question his own cheekiness on matters), rather than promiscuously besmirching or stigmatizing him. McCain's a statesman, a man with whom one can, it seems, have relatively genial intellectual and/or ideological disagreement; the Chain-Gang, on the other hand, epitomizes the butterslide that is Springeresque politics now so sickeningly and disturbingly the norm.
And, might this blog add a cautious addendum? Much has been said of Bush's "unwavering" nature, certainly mythological (ask those families and politicians that pressed for a commission on the events of 9/11 that first met stern resistance to the idea but gladly watched the President waver and waver like the sorority girl that insists she never does that sort of thing, ever, I tell you, ever, her popularity ever, ever, more important than her pride). But one has to wonder: is this genuine "spine," the Churchillian quality of steeled commitment, or merely the simple-minded stubbornness of someone convinced he's not only fine but still okay to drive himself (and many others) home? I know this: I've seen what he's done with the keys in his past four years, and that should be a frightening reminder of what happens when people shrug their shoulders and defer to his chronically-impaired judgment more resigned than determined. Sure, he might steer everyone home safely, with a bit of luck and despite the calamitous, and probably distracting, cheering from the backseat. But it's surely going to be a bumpy ride-- and I'm glad I won't be in the same vehicle. Problem is, I'm afraid I might be on the road that night, too.
POST-SCRIPT: Governor Ahhhhh-nold, demonstrating the sort of critical thinking that should go into the formation of one's ideas about politics and, indeed, one's identity:
I finally arrived here in 1968. I had empty pockets, but I was full of dreams. The presidential campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon and Humphrey presidential race on TV. A friend who spoke German and English, translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism, which is what I had just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air.You can read the rest of his remarks here. Nixon-- a breath of fresh air?!? Was he ever that, even in the 50s? And it's very comforting to know that the Govuhnuh goes with the "what's he?-well, then I'm one of him-forever and ever amen" logic. But at least it proves that he'll stand loyally behind even the most corrupt and paranoid.
I said to my friend, "What party is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a Republican!" And I've been a Republican ever since! And trust me, in my wife's family, that's no small achievement! I'm proud to belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, the party of Ronald Reagan and the party of George W. Bush.
No comments:
Post a Comment