The best metaphor for Bush's Presidency is a flunk-out. Sure, he has been in the White House, worn the Presidential seal, and participated in ceremonies. He has pretended to do his homework and told us all that he was "studying." But even the most feeble-minded American knows by now that Bush has flunked. Look at his grades:
Foreign Policy: F
Domestic Policy: F
Moral leadership: D-
Administration: F
Physical Education: C+
Once you understand that he has flunked, and knows it, the strange, skittish behavior he exhibits is comprehensible. Bush is desperately pretending that he is a President in good standing, not a failure who is about to be tossed out the door. His father broke down in tears recently because he has already reviewed Junior Bush's transcript and comprehends the disgrace this will bring to the family.
Bush is now contemplating a very low-profile future. Maybe he will go to Paraguay until things blow over. In ten or twenty years, he may be able to get a book deal for "If I Had Really Been A President." Until then, he has just got to learn how to change the subject when Iraq, Katrina, Social Security, wiretapping, or torture comes up.
This could have been predicted. A man of poor character, low intelligence, and lazy work habits would be unlikely to succeed in the office of the Presidency, one of the most demanding jobs in the world. But America gave Bush his chance (probably because of his bible-thumping act). Bush has failed miserably, inflicting over 30,000 military casualties on America and over a trillion dollars in financial losses. He has sunk our enconomy under debt, wrecked our reputation in the eyes of the world, and turned Iraq into a hellish failed state. He has flunked the Presidency.