Did you see the press conference today? I just caught the end of it on C-SPAN. I am not a tinfoil hat aficionado, but if Bush is not on some kind of stimulant, my name is Jeff Gannon. He was doing his seemingly drug induced jaw flick thing (moving his jaw rapidly side to side) and he was really amped up. I noticed during the campaign that the frequency of Bush's jaw twitches (a common side effect of stimulants) correlates perfectly with his demeanor. Lots of jaw movement--pumped up. No jaw movement--lethargic. The guy is on drugs. They finally nailed the dosage, however. He wasn't second debate hostile, but he was way more together than the first debate. He was riffing like a fool and trying to be funny. He managed to combine the awkwardness of his father with the vacuousness of Reagan. It was amazing.
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At one point he compared the current post-election wrangling in Iraq to the social security "posturing" (his word) in America. Please lets use this word against him, ok? Of course he pointed out that the Iraqis are not as sophisticated as we are, being new to democracy and all. Apparently, they have yet to figure out that it is perfectly OK for your "posturing" to be at odds with the facts, as long as it involves slick production values. It was like watching a misguided but proud father divulge a little secret. "You know son, you get a couple a shots in your mother, and she is quite tomcat."
I came away from the whole thing with a small insight. Its not the Daddy party vs. the Mother party. It's the cokehead party vs. the pothead party. It is no coincidence that I can't stand people on coke and I can't stand Republicans. Potheads? Some of the best people I have met are potheads. One party is all about belligerence, overconfidence, and it hates nuance. The other is about reflection, introspection, and making sure there is enough food. The last decade of politics has seen a cranked up, delusionally overconfident jerk trampling all over a well-meaning, gifted, but underachieving slacker.
Don't believe me? Picture yourself at a bar. A brawl breaks out. Would you rather be aligned with the potheads or the cokeheads? Well, you would probably say the cokeheads (but of course, then you are probably with the jerks who started the fight). Republicans are the party of war. Now, picture yourself hanging out at home, eating dinner, watching a movie. Would you rather be surrounded by the cokeheads or the potheads? Democrats are much better on the domestic front because it is there natural environment. Plus, potheads care about others: "It must really suck to be out delivering pizzas right now so we better give the delivery person a really good tip. "
Anyway, I would love to get a urine sample from old W.