Mary Mape Dodge, in her 1865 work Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates, immortalized the story of a young boy who one day found a leak in the dike. Sticking his finger at the source of the leak, he stopped the flow of sea water from slowly tearing down the dike until help arrived to patch it.
Some say this story is a myth, that the inhabitants of the Netherlands had never heard of the story until American tourists invaded, looking for the site. But a cursory search on the Internet unearthed information that a statue actually memorializes the event.
I'm not here to debate the truth of the little Dutch boy who saved a village. Rather, I just wanted to give you a visual of what I am about to suggest:
With election day less than one week away, I see Bush as that little Dutch boy who is trying to save his presidency by holding back some ominous issues plaguing his re-election campaign.
If I were a political cartoonist, I'd depict Bush (wearing a Pinochio-like costume) standing at a leaky dike that is taller than his cartoon caricature. Re-election 2004 is written across its front. Nearly all of his digits, and even his right foot, are jammed into the dike at various locations. His miniature body is stretched wide, sweat is popping off of his face, and he looks stressed and gravely concerned.
Above the dike, we see a series of waves making their way toward the dike, each one of them represents some of the issues that threaten Bush's re-election. Each wave carries the name of an issue -- national deficit, weak economy, lost jobs, high gas prices, higher health care costs, flu-vaccine debacle*, bad education program, environmental neglect, rise of nuclear proliferation worldwide, under-funded homeland security, threat of draft, Abu Ghraib, and the costly Iraq war. The last wave is the largest, it reads: Qa Qaa**.
Will Bush fall under the weight of the waves or will he be able to withstand the deluge till November 2nd? It's the biggest suspense thriller of this fall season lineup.
* Regarding the flu-vaccine debacle, do you know that NO other country in the world is having a shortage. It is just the U.S. News today also reports that the cause of this debacle is being held back until the election is over.
** Regarding Qa Qaa-- 385 TONS of explosives have gone missing. The important point behind this news is that it validates the concerns the top generals were saying at the build-up and beginning of the invasion-- that they needed more troops to do the job right. It validates the notion that the invasion and phases of reconstruction and winning the peace were simply poorly planned.
