George was drunk as a skunk, under the table, in a coma

...or it is just his lack of Imagin-ation ...he sure never figured it out. While we were all listening to Lennon back in our day, Dubya was just not into that culture.



Anyway, I'm certainly encouraged to hear the pundits on morning NPR this week, saying essentially sane and logical things such as "we should declare victory and leave Iraq." The programmers must have gotten word that the numbers just aren't backing up what they have been propagandizing, and the pesky independent press just keeps prying out the real story. So instead of warmongers, we are getting a breath of fresh air. ...unless it is only a temporary let up to get us through election day. Honing a campaign is a delicate game. Fire up the base, hit their hot buttons, start the flying FWDs among the faithful, maybe hammer them with code words that elicit a response: terrorist, Saddam-Osama, Islamo-fascism, September 11, September 11, September 11. Then ease up, raise the spirits a bit, maybe the corporations can ease the price of gas for a few weeks, that'll buy 'em off.

Over at the Whiskey Bar yesterday, Billmon posted a brilliant piece, Be All That You Can Be, comparing the state of affairs we're in today to what was written about the fall of the imperial Roman Empire, with quotes taken from the classic history, "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" written by Edward Gibbon. Go Read It!