I was reading about Bush's trip to the Bureau of Public Debt today, and I was struck by how unbelievably clumsy the trip felt, from a purely political standpoint.
Consider the context. The Schiavo stunt was, without any doubt, a complete fiasco for the President, effectively negating all political capital derived from the election, and probably putting him into debt, based on his recent poll numbers.
Additionally, Bush's Social Security "plan" is seriously in trouble for a million and one reasons, the biggest reason probably being the lack of an actual *@$@% plan.
His party's house leader is succumbing to an ethical and political meltdown and his extremist base has just served notice that they will do everything in their power to make the Republicans look like wacko religious extremists who believe killing judges is understandable ...
So what does Bush do? Does he execute a deft political move, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat? Does Rove masterfully leak forged documents to news bureaus?
No.
Bush pulls another publicity stunt, this time with a filing cabinet.
The punch-line: The cabinet is filled with fake bonds.
The even funnier punchline: By going to a place with "Public Debt" in the title, Bush provides Democrats (and comedians) with enough material for a week.
Funnier yet: Bush states that the Trust Fund doesn't exist, which is surprising news (no doubt) to bond holders.
Did anyone in the administration REALLY think that this idiotic photo op involving office furniture was going to help Bush, especially with his Schiavo stunt fresh in everyone's minds?
Bush seems ... completely lost.
He looks exactly like he looked before September 11th ... befuddled, clueless and completely out of touch ... not just to us but to just about everyone who hasn't signed a blood oath on his behalf.
Mind you, I am not complaining. But I still can't help wondering ...
Where the hell is Rove? Or anyone with a basic knowledge of politics?
Doesn't all of this seem unbelievably sloppy? Bush is just pissing away his entire second term and ... I dunno ... its just pretty amazing to watch.
I have no doubt that Bush and the Republicans will do a LOT more damage to our country before they are done, but I can't help wondering if maybe we are getting some help from Upstairs right now ... perhaps from God ... or perhaps ... from Hunter S. Thompson.
Thanks Dr. H.