George
of the Jungle
Come
on! An 84% approval rating?! Who
are they talking about here,
George Bush or God? Is the bar
really that low as to warrant
those numbers, or is there just a
dearth of real leadership in this
country? One must admit that
George is a very lucky guy, and
maybe luck is better then talent
in the long run. But maybe it
isn't.
First,
he's lucky to be in office, and
if not for the incompetence of
South Florida voters, he wouldn't
be. Second, he's lucky to have
had a major diversion draw
attention away from his
"domestic agenda",
which thus far entails
multi-tiered assaults that favor
the privileged. And third, he's
extremely lucky that the general
populous has developed diminished
expectations of leadership in
general, and that position in
particular. So I guess George is
just living down to expectations,
as it were.
The war
on Islamic terrorism (which is to
say contemporary Islam) inflates
the president's poll numbers, but
let's look at this. Donald
Rumsfeldt determines and directs
the war's objectives. General
Tommy Franks prosecutes the war.
Colin Powell handles the
international public relations
and political fallout. Condoleeza
Rice interprets what the
president means after he speaks,
the whole text of which is
concocted by speechwriters. Those
people deserve 84%, not George!
Still, he gets it all, while
lacking any vision, and doing
little but serving as
Spokesperson-in-chief. It's
corporate bureaucracy disguised
as a presidency, formulating
little in domestic policy that
benefits the hoi pol-loi, all the
while fomenting class divisions
and conflict over basic issues of
equity and fairness.
But one
day this war will end, Scarlet,
and when it does, George's rave
reviews will end with it. It's no
wonder he predicts a long war. He
hopes it lasts the duration of
his presidency, by which time the
opinion poles will anoint him
Abraham Lincoln. But on domestic
issues, he's Herbert Hoover, and
his luck may not out-last that.
And with no more luck, George
will possess little of what is
necessary to confront issues
festering as a consequence of bad
judgement and lack of attention.
Unless, of course, he can talk
his father's friends into bailing
him out of those things as well.
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