You've got to be kiddink wif me.

[trinityvixen]

I'm watching clips of Bush's last press conference. I'm...agog. Keith Olbermann's commentary is so apt:

"[Bush] ranged from reminding the viewer of the angriest of Richard Nixon's press conferences to recalling Hillary Clinton choking up with emotion at a diner in New Hampshire, to finally, ultimately, sounding like the buzzed guy at the bar, running the gamut of emotions from regret to buying a round for the place, to challenging everybody there to a fight."

I'm pissed off, sure, but I'm speechless in the face of such pigheaded determination to deceive himself and others about what happened. He fudges facts so he looks like less of an asshole, fine, that's typical, but then Bush rants about how they love him and America in India, China, and Africa--he likes that last one especially because they are dependent on our aid and wouldn't dare question him. Not like those liberal fart-artists in Europe. Who wouldn't even take in our prisoners from Abu Ghraib after they kicked up all that gosh-darned fuss about how we treated them! (It is, as I said to feiran like faulting people who don't want to adopt abused pets because they weren't there to rescue them before they were abused.) And don't get me started on his commentary about 9/11. He actually thinks it's a bad thing that government employees were "dragged in front of Congress" to explain the intelligence failure that lead to that tragedy. (Of course he thinks it's a bad thing; he was ultimately found to have been at fault for ignoring intelligence about the attack! Given his administration's casual relationship with legal precidents and, you know, laws moreover, I'm not surprised he's averse to the idea of accountability.)

This man is delusional. I agree that the question of malicious vs. ignorant is a meaningless discussion: regardless of whether the Bush Administration is full of people intentionally fucking up or people too incompetant to do their goddamn jobs, they did a bunch of ridiculously bad shit with complete disregard to the consequences. The third option--they are all fucking insane--wasn't really one I'd considered. Sociopaths, sure. (Definitely in Cheney's case.) But Bush is fucking NUTS.

Or back on the sauce. Or, worse, not back on the sauce and still behaving this way.

Comments

[mithras03.livejournal.com]

In the waning days of this administration, I have been catching up on my West Wing (still relevant, of course). I've found myself thinking what the show would be like if, for example, it was written by the writers of 24 (i.e. a show about the Bush White House). It's a painful thing to think about.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You don't need to imagine because we've pretty much survived it these last eight years. Bush himself is so inordinately fond of 24 that you almost don't need the hyperbolic enthusiasm of the right-wing blogosphere to make the case that if they could, they'd make every day "Jack Bauer Day."

And I really need to watch The West Wing. I've only had the DVDs from my friend for forever at this point.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Rumor has it that this season holds Jack accountable for his past behavior, but I'm sure they'll justify his actions because Jack is awesome.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

They won't do anything that jeopardizes their ratings. So it will be interesting to see how many of the blowhards who think Jack Bauer should be the next head of the CIA actually stop watching if he doesn't get to torture himself some A-rabs. Perhaps the dip will be insignificant and prove what I've suspected all along: that idiot conservatives who love Jack Bauer don't, as a rule, watch the actual show he is on, lest it taint their love.

[mithras03.livejournal.com]

What I was thinking of was a West Wing look at the Bush/Jack Bauer White House. A 24 spin-off if you will. :-P Instead of White House Press Secretary CJ Craig, it's Dana Perino, who doesn't know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was! Instead of a president who can curse in Latin (aka Jed Bartlett)and has a Nobel Prize, we get a president who chokes on pretzels and wants to be GI Joe!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Who would write it, though? Pam Atlas? Jonah Goldberg?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

And you sort of wonder if it wasn't on purpose, even, until you realize this man is deranged and not nearly clever enough to remember that that particular malapropism has been featured in innumerable books dedicated to collecting and organizing his mountain of verbal gaffes. He just thinks it's a real word.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Obama and he are going back-and-forth on this thing. Bush can't possibly be hurt by doing ANYTHING at this point short of refusing to cede the office, so he should just DO IT. But I'm almost as annoyed at Obama for punting so many things until after he takes office. He has a mandate that W never had; he needs to start pushing.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Lol. Basically, everyone thinks the situation requires immediate action as far as how the bailout money is spent. This is true. But Obama keeps saying that we only have one president at a time and he won't make any demands on the money one way or another. He has asked, from what I can tell, for Bush to request the discretion to use the funds from Congress or something--to at least get it ready for use sooner. I think. It's rather complicated. But the long-and-short is both could be doing more to get the money into circulation to stem the bleeding in our economy.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Just getting the bailout money into circulation nownownow is not the best of plans, really. If we were going to "stem the bleeding" via fiscal and monetary policy, we would need to have acted a year to a year and a half ago, back when the Fed was still denying the possibility of a recession. Flooding the system too much now risks hyperinflation.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I understand that. We still would do better to act more quickly rather than less. Cautiously, carefully, but sooner rather than later.

[wellgull.livejournal.com]

And that's exactly it -- bailout measures and spending measures are DEEPLY unpopular with the average American, who's been brainwashed to think that all government is Evil and Wrong, and that economic stimulus will necessarily be a millstone around our necks for the future.

Bush wants to make sure Obama, and the Democrats, take as much of the political flak for it as possible. He'll volunteer nothing.

Bush does not care about America. He is simply using this as an opportunity to spike the adversary.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Lunatics, aside from the Joker, have no sense of humor. I admit to being possibly intractable on this matter, but the man is either senile or psychotic to be behaving this way. (Or, as I said, back on the sauce.)

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Alcohol is no scapegoat, just an explanation. The fact that he would make the VERY BAD DECISION to start drinking again is as indicative of his entrenched narcissism as anything else. The fact that he seems as though he's drunk all the time makes me despair that no one ever thought that that should count against him as president.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I saw clips of that on the Daily Show. Um...wow. I especially like the part where he thinks he could have handled Katrina better...by maybe flying Air Force One into Baton Rouge. But he so magnanimously decided not to divert law enforcement from trying to save people's lives. Yes, Bush. That's why we're upset with you over Katrina, because you didn't show your face in New Orleans. That's it. You fucking fuck.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

That's exactly the sort of reaction I had: FUCKING FUCK. Then I got scared by how delusional this guy was. The only revenge I can think of as being fitting is to be sure that he doesn't rewrite history, goddamnit.

[wellgull.livejournal.com]

Bush won't be the one rewriting history; Rupert Murdoch and Frank Fukuyama will... gotta keep these things at arm's length, you know.