Bail Out
Well, the election is over and I feel great. My optimism gets stronger, rather than be crushed into cynicism by suspicious defeat. It's nice to know that incompetence, corruption and arrogance is something this country can only stand for so long. I hope the Democrats make them look even worse by comparison with strong governance the next two years.
I feel good that my instincts were right on Rove's genius and October surprises. There was no way a master architect such as Rove was supposed to be would ever let them get in the position they were in by June, much less October. Now they've pissed off evangelicals, pissed off Hispanics (75% went Dem in this election, reversing a heavy trend the other way), pissed off much of their military family support. And pissed off me. Rove totally lost me.
The GOP as we knew it is gone. It was plain as day in Bush's press conference. The charade is over, and now, worst of all, there is oversight. Retroactive oversight, if necessary. My guess is Bush follows the same path he has his entire life. He takes something over, derives great personal gain from it, wrecks it, then gets bailed out by a group organized by or affiliated in some way with his dad. His dad's guys are everywhere now: Baker, Robert Gates, that other guy. Pretty soon we'll start seeing Brent Scowcroft's name again, which is a good thing. Maybe Colin Powell will be the VP. The realists of the 41 Presidency are asking to get their hands back on the reigns of power, and it's right on cue. And now that things have gone in the tank, what a surprise: Daddy's guys are running the war.
Bush 43 wants us to believe he's a man of conviction, a fighter who will roll up his sleeves and clean up this mess, but it's a ruse. He's more than willing to cede power to whoever will take it. It's the story of his adult life, over and over again. The Bush 41 cronies will take everything over on everything related to foreign policy and they will work with the Democrats, who will take the rest. Bush will be left with non-starter former pet projects like privatization of Social Security, and...the Mission to Mars?
That's why Bush talked so much about the "responsibility" that comes with winning elections in his press conference the other day. He's not downplaying the Dems and overstating the role and power of the White House like he was a week ago; he's doing the opposite. He's lowering expectations for his group, and putting it all on the Dem shoulders.
Yes, it is a lot of responsibility to clean up a mess this large, but George W. Bush has never had to clean up after himself before, and he's sure not going to start now. It's bail-out time, right on cue.
10:44:36 PM 
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