John's Blog

I had the misfortune to catch a few minutes of Bush's News Conference before I left this morning. On one hand, it was refreshing to see Helen Thomas try to get a straight answer from the shrub about what was the real reason we went to war and why he lied to us about it. But his dismissive denial was pretty much the same set of discredited cliches that he has been repeating again and again. You just knew you would be hearing "September 11th" and "oceans don't protect us" pretty quickly, and on this point he delivered the goods really soon. Luckily, I had to leave and missed the rest of the spin/denial/lies/delusions that followed.

Moments like this are apparently becoming more frequent, as the majority finally realizes that the emperor has no clothes. I'm not sure what his handlers are thinking, putting him out there in unscripted situations where he has to answer real questions, and not the pre-screened softballs like in the old days. I can only think that they are that desperate, and they hope that sticking to the talking points and looking tough will pull them through yet another crisis. The problem with that is that he's beginning to look a little frazzled, but the White House Press corps let him off easy, looking more like a fraternity mixer than the boxing match it really should have been. He talks about our enemies ruling by "intimidation & fear", but none of the frat boys had the balls to point out that that pretty much describes US foreign policy as well.

In the event you missed yesterday's Keith Olbermann, I think he pretty much sums up the increasing frustration we all have with his the crap he continues to shamelessly shovel: "Who does the President think he's F'n kidding?" In case you missed it Crooks and Liars has the video. Can't wait to see what he has to say tonight.

And the new McSweeney's piece rings far too true: Parallels Between My Living Through Two Years of Middle School and the Two Terms of the Bush Presidency

The radical changes going on around me make me uncomfortable.
I am unhappy about the way things are, but feel helpless to do anything about it.
Shame is my dominant emotion.
I feel very insecure and vulnerable.
Others supposedly feel as I do, but whenever I turn on the TV it seems otherwise.
At times, I wish I lived in a faraway country....