I am a reluctant ambulance chaser, politically speaking. I see tragedy everywhere, and before I can muster the appropriate sympathy or empathy or compassion or concern for the victims, an involuntary twinge of gloating comes over me.
This is what George Bush has done to me personally. He's caused me to politicize events that I would otherwise take at face value.
Instead of seeing tragic events for what they are, I've begun to see them as steps toward Democratic victory. And I hate it.
When April ended as the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq, I emotionally skipped past the mourning phase and went straight to,
this will be bad for Bush.
I've completely lost sight of Valerie Plame, the person, and how her life was changed by the reckless, vengeful WHIG outing. Now, every diary and news story about Fitzgerald's investigation induces private joy. This will be bad for Bush.
I barely give a thought to the millions of the families that, already financially strapped, are now paying $50 or $75 to fill up their gas tanks. Instead: This will be bad for Bush.
Katrina and all her siblings that we've yet to meet. This will be bad for Bush.
The prospect of nuclear war with Iran. This will be bad for Bush.
The ballooning deficit no longer induces thoughts of future generations suffering at the hands of our excesses. Instead, This will be bad for Bush.
Harry Whittington's shot-up face. This will be bad for Bush.
This morning, when I read the words World War III in a Yahoo headline, I was unfazed - thinking only, this will be bad for Bush.
Hookers. Impending indictments against dozens of Congressmen. Abramoff. Global warming.
You know the list, and it is endless.
Five years ago, I would have never allowed politics to trump compassion. Today, I see every story as a pendulum that's either swinging our way or their way. It's personally unsettling.
I hate that it's come to this. I hate this addiction to bad news. I hate the way I root for this administration's failure, costs be damned.
I hate George Bush for stealing my compassion...for hardening my empathetic sensibilities...for bringing out the worst in me...for politicizing this mini-apocalypse we're living in today.
If there's any good news, it's that I wouldn't get angry unless the caring was still in there somewhere.