What's really scary about that headline is that it is from a satirical piece that appeared in The Onion three days before George W. Bush was inaugurated in 2001. A friend reminded me of that piece today, and I was just saddened to realize how much of a parody piece has turned into reality.
The Onion's writers got the war right, assuring that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.
"Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"
And The Onion's writers nailed the economy:
On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further.
At one point in time I actually believed that Bush would be the compassionate conservative who could bridge the differences between both parties. Too bad my hope was crushed on a cold anvil of reality.
"We as a people must stand united, banding together to tear this nation in two. Much work lies ahead of us: The gap between the rich and the poor may be wide, be there's much more widening left to do. We must squander our nation's hard-won budget surplus on tax breaks for the wealthiest 15 percent. And, on the foreign front, we must find an enemy and defeat it."
For 8 years we've been living a bad comedy routine. It is time for us to end that bit.
Remember that as you stand in line for 10 minutes or two hours or whatever the wait is at your precinct today. Vote. Take a friend. Take two strangers. Please let's drive the incompetents out of office.