The Quarterback is Toast

This started out as a comment on Chill's post but it got long enough that I decided to let it out of the cage and run free.

MANIFESTO

I agree with Chill's main point but not necessarily with the degree of his disdain. Yes, the Times should have been better about going after The Boy King before the election when it really would have meant something, but this was a media-wide failing, not just the Times. Not that this is an excuse since the Times is one of the most important/influential outlets there is. But I doubt that anyone who has read Maureen Dowd or Paul Krugman for the last couple of years would say these two have been reluctant to point out mistakes/failings of BK and his cronies.

That being said, it is probably more important to focus on the fact that the Times and just about everyone else is finally going after BK for the first time. The questions being asked are getting more and more difficult to brush off with smirks and cowboy platitutes. And the public is starting to notice. The next elections cycle will be very telling. There are some that think the Dems can win back both the House and the Senate in one fell swoop. I don't know enough about the indiviual races to speak intelligently on this but I sure as hell hope it's true. What I do know is the GOP is having a tough time find decent Senate candidates for '06 and are way behind the Dems in fundraising. (Both the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have stories about this.)

Of all the points brought up by the Times, the 9/11 thing still gets me more than anything. Is there anything more pathetic than this? I mean really, anything? I've asked a few people a question and ask readers for their help. What successes has BK had in almost five years in office? Other than the bullhorn thing at ground zero, I ask anyone to name one policy that he and his supporters can point to as an unqualified success. Not Afghanistan since Osama is still out there. Not removing Saddam because Iraq is such a mess. Not revamping Social Security since that is dead in the water. Katrina is only an issue because he was so inept. (If he had done his job half right, no one would be blaming him for anything.) The tax-cut givaways to the rich that have created a record-setting deficit has only lead to a marginal 3% bump in the economy. Saying he is a strong leader is not enough because that is something create through advertising, not results. B mentioned the John Roberts appointment to the Supreme Court but I'm not sure I agree since the vote wasn't close and BK didn't have to expend any political capital to secure it. Gas prices are way up. DeLay has been indicted. Frist is under investigation. Karl Rove et al. are facing the spector of indictement in the Plame case. BK nominates crony (and pathetically unqualified) Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. I'm serious, what have any of these people done right that will help them win an election?

The Boy King is the worst President since Herbert Hoover and people are finally starting to notice. He will undoubtably leave this country worse off than he found it. It took someone like FDR to come along and clean up Hoover's mess. I just hope there is somebody up to the task of cleaning up after BK.