Smoke & Mirrors

I know many people believe that Bush lives in a bubble. So many that that he has been forced to comment on it himself. It seems to me that this life in a bubble is untrue but not because he denies it. A bubble protects you from the outside world but you can see out. This is not our President's situation. He doesn't see what goes on outside his world.

I give my opinion of Bush's habitat below the fold. Take a peek if you care (or dare). In any case, thanks for dropping by my diary.

The house of mirrors is a better metaphor for the state of Bush's world. Everywhere he looks he sees people with his same view of the world, of right, of wrong and all the rest. As he walks down the mirror lined hallways of the White House, he sees a throng of people just like him. They are in lock step and stay his course. He surrounds himself with mirrors: people who reflect his views to confirm his righteousness.

When he pulls back the curtains on the White House windows whose panes have been replaced with mirrors, he sees himself. Those people outside are doing the hard work. And they are doing a heck of a job to boot. They deserve a medal and a vacation.

His public appearances before hand-picked true believers reinforce his world. They show him that those people outside think his policies are brilliant. They also think those jokes are funny and, oh, how they laugh. No applause sign is needed there.

When he travels in his limousine with the mirrors on the windows, he sees not the poor or the protester. Bush tells the faces he sees in the mirror that he's going to make omelets of the terrorists. "Break them eggs, George," the faces reply. "Scramble and torture them. We love omelets just like you do. Bring them on!"

But those on the outside of these mirrored windows can only see darkness. Some think this darkness ominous. They notice how hollow and empty the White House looks and can't help but think the lights are off and nobody's home. Others are not bothered by the darkness or wonder about what goes on behind those windows. There a just some things they don't need to know. They got jobs to do, bills to pay and families to take care of everyday. I don't blame them. I used to feel the same way.

These mirrors do not allow Bush to see the dissatisfaction born from the broken promises of integrity, safety and compassion. People feel a wedge driven between themselves and their country and see more wedges driven between us and the rest of the world. More and more, the public sees the corruption, the lost lives and the lives in the balance and recognizes the lies. The mirrors will hide those different views. He cannot see those on the other side and fights to protect what is on his side of the mirror.

So gigantic smoke machines in the basement of the White House fire up and the smoke pours forth. The smoke moves into and out of the television and radio studios. It moves through the newspaper pressrooms. The smoke moves up the American streets, across the farm lands and up the mountains.

The smoke engulfs the country. Some smell the smoke and find it disturbing while many are not bothered by the smell at all. It's just smoke after all. It reminds them of the old days or peaceful campfire. The smoke is like the bad tasting water which is just fine when they mix it with koolaid. Just spray some air-freshener and the smoke becomes a benevolent fog. They like the way the fog obscures the hard edges of this complicated modern world.

So I believe Bush when he says doesn't live in a bubble but it is the only thing. Bush's world is The White House of Mirrors. I am left to inhabit a land of smoke where I smell something burning and sense things being destroyed and lost.