CRACKIN’ UP
In the European Middle Ages (and since, it is said) the fact that royalty had to stay within an artificially-anointed bloodline meant that nations were not always ruled by the most gifted leaders or brightest minds of the national elite. Often, because of convenient and socially ambitious cousin-mating or just because there is a little or a lot of mental illness in every family, even the self-defined Great Empires were controlled by men (always men) of unstable and lesser minds, whose infirmaries were well known, but unacknowledged by toadies, lords and official scriveners alike. However, the infirmities of mind, genetics and basic inadequacy did not prevent the unworthily powerful from an exaggerated sense of their own Grand Vision and the Righteousness of their very Existence.
And so it is with Junior Bush. As made all too clear in Ron Suskind’s essential cover story in the New York Time Magazine on Sunday, Bush is isolated in a religious cocoon, driven by forces that are irrational, shielded by his handlers and his own internal firewall not only from any criticism, but from any inquiry. Up to now, the mainstream media – which always panders on matters of religion – had treated his convenient religiosity as a positive trait, even identifying his pitiful answer to a religious question in the last debate as his best moment. Now, Suskind’s thoughtful and well-researched article has put the issue of the president’s daffiness front-and-center. And not a moment too soon. In fact, probably too late.
But it increasingly looks like the electorate has their own good reasons for rejecting the Man-Boy from Crawford. Based on the continued shrillness of their made-up anti-Kerry shtick, the Bushies don’t like the trends in the public and their internal polls. It is finally starting to dawn on them that they are losing the election.
Ever since John Kerry put the lie to their definition of him in the debates, the Bush handlers have been reeling and striking out for something - anything - to save their sinking ship. And the media, to their never-ending shame, have played right along. The most absurd of it all came after the last debate, when the despicable Lynn Cheney waxed indignant about Kerry showing their black-sheep daughter in a positive light to make a point in the debate. Apparently, the Rovian Troopers got to her before the debate even ended and she was on stage after, stomping up and down. The next day, she concluded that Kerry was "a bad man" for using their daughter to make a (correct and excellent) political point. Overall, the Cheneys acted like Kerry had outed their daughter, an absurd notion, since they regularly use their daughter as a political football – in their case to make Dick look less like the Vader-like thug that he is.
But, again led by squawk radio wingnuts and right-wing-heavy cable panels, the mainstream media treated it like a legitimate issue for a couple of days, another Rove-created distraction from Junior’s third weird persona in three debates, more death and destruction in Iraq, etc. Again, the media takes too much of the Bushies stage behavior at face value, such as asking "why did the Cheneys get so upset?" when they never got upset – they were just acting like it. The "did you hear what they said?" double-standard in this campaign season has been ridiculous. Bush says stupid, untrue, lying things in every speech. Kerry or Edwards make one slight exaggeration or mistake (i.e.: Edwards: Kerry will make the lame walk!) and it’s all over the place ("they will do and say anything to get elected!").
But it may be all too late for the Bushies. Since the first debate, Kerry has steadily built his support nationally and, more importantly, in battleground states. Nothing the Bushies can come up with will turn this around. And it’s almost too late for the October Surprise. Almost.
11:34:40 AM 
|
|
