Here’s the most unsurprising piece of news ever:
Bush’s poll ratings are in the toilet. He’s taken even more of a hit because of the hurricanes. People are tired of his dishonest war. Now, even hard-core conservatives are taking him to task. What’s a president to do?
Give a speech about terrorism, of course. This too little, too late attempt to divert attention may go down in history as the first time that he’s invoked “The War On Terrorism” and didn’t get a bump in the polls — in fact, everyone seems to be shaking their heads in recognition of what it really is.
He claims that his administration has thwarted at least 10 significant terrorist plots; of course, they’ve also claimed to have captured about a dozen “no. 2” al Qaeda operatives as well. This is an area where the president is free to embellish, dissemble, lie because we can’t verify these claims. Well, they could tell us, but then they’d have to kill us.
And just to put the icing on the rehabilitate-the-president cake, there’s a new terrorist threat to New York.
Now comes the fun part. Via the lovely Mac comes this tidbit, guaranteed to make you fall down laughing — be sure you’re not eating a pretzel when you read this, which comes directly from Ann Coulter’s Own Mouth.
Bush has no right to say “Trust me.” He was elected to represent the American people, not to be dictator for eight years. Among the coalitions that elected Bush are people who have been laboring in the trenches for a quarter-century to change the legal order in America. While Bush was still boozing it up in the early ’80s, Ed Meese, Antonin Scalia, Robert Bork and all the founders of the Federalist Society began creating a farm team of massive legal talent on the right.
… However nice, helpful, prompt and tidy she is, Harriet Miers isn’t qualified to play a Supreme Court justice on “The West Wing,” let alone to be a real one. Both Republicans and Democrats should be alarmed that Bush seems to believe his power to appoint judges is absolute. This is what “advice and consent” means.
I don’t think I need to point out how ironic this is, do I?
Now, I wonder why the right wing is so blind to Bush’s constant bleating of “trust me?” I mean, he’s done everything short of winking at the camera, trying to tell them that she is the ultra-right fundamentalist that they wished for, but keep it under your hat so the liberals don’t catch on!
Ah Gene I knew you’d have something to say about the obvious desperation behind today’s speech (yet you didn’t bother to bring up the tired wrong — yet necessary — association of Iraq and terrorism).
Bush is so stupid — and I bet becoming increasingly paranoid — that he really thinks this poor woman is the best choice. If she thinks he is the ‘smartest man she knows’ then obviously she is not that bright. Anyone with a decent IQ can tell that W is an idiot with less tool-using ability than an ape.
I just love that she scares the right-wing whackos. Give her some Lancome eyeliner, girls, and we OWN her!
I wouldn’t get too complacent because the right wing is complaining about Meirs — I will bet you dollars to donuts that they are making a ruckus as part of a carefully thought out Karl Rove plan. If they complain loudly enough, the liberals will start to back down; next thing you know we have another Scalia on the court and our hard-won freedoms are gone.