Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: Illinois, USA
Subject: Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

34. The latest CBS News poll finds the “President” has approval ratings that have fallen to an all-time low of 34%. 34%… 34%… 34%… 34%… 34%… sorry, got sidetracked there for a moment writing 34% [contented sigh] Add to that that disapproval of the war in Iraq is at an all-time high and the fact that most Americans (and 7 out of 10 registered Republicans) oppose the UAE port-deal, and the Veep has approval ratings of 18%, you have the makings of one incredibly disastrous Presidency and Administration. (Must contain glee, must contain glee…)

Bush’s blunders bury backers: Republican governors are fretting that the Bush administration's latest stumbles are taking an election-year toll on the party back home, and they aren’t keeping it to themselves. The governors acknowledge that the series of gaffes threatens to undermine public confidence in President Bush's ability to provide security and will filter down to all mid-term races. (To that I say: WHOO-HOO!!! Bring ‘em on! Karma baby!! Time to create a new iPod playlist called Whoop-Ass!)

Karl Rove's obsession, a new fragrance by GOP. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), in reacting to a new book that quotes Bush strategist Karl “I Heart Hillary” Rove as saying she will be the 2008 Democratic nominee for president, said earlier this week that he “spends a lot of time obsessing about me” and that the GOP is using her to divert attention from Republican problems as the 2006 congressional elections approach. Makes sense to me…though it should be painfully clear to the GOP that nothing is going to attract attention from all the GOP’s ‘issues, no matter who they shoot, infuriate, empower or lie to, nothing will divert attention from their problems… (I, along with other Liberals and other liberal blogs, like Daily Kos, will make damn sure of that…)

Disgruntled elephants. GOP discontent has been building in the past few months, what with them forcing Bush to sign a measure banning torture of detainees despite his initial veto threat, blocking renewal of the USA Patriot Act until their civil liberties concerns were addressed and pressured the White House into accepting legislation on its secret eavesdropping program.

Heimlich! This gives new meaning to the term ‘choke artist.’ Senator John Giannetti (D-MD) is being hailed today after saving Jim Rosapepe from choking on Monday night. What makes this interesting is the fact that Rosapepe just happens to be Giannetti’s largest threat for his Senate seat. Giannetti, sitting in the bar of an Italian restaurant in Annapolis, jumped into action when Rosapepe stumbled in from the dining room, and then doubled over choking. No smart-ass comment here, just a hearty cheer to Senator Giannetti for being in the right place, at the right time.

Raising Fees. We all know, mainly because he won’t let the American people forget it, that the “President” is against any sort of tax increase. What you may not know is that he is (very) comfortable with imposing billions and billions (thank you Mr. Sagan) of dollars in new government fees. Just ask the airline, commodities and shipping industries. Bush's 2007 budget proposal would raise more than $47 billion over the next five years by imposing, raising or extending fees on everything from airline tickets to commodity transactions to ships passing through various seaways.

Politics 1 - Science 0. Not much to say on this, just a suggestion to read this Op-Ed piece from The Washington Post… it’ll make you think.

Cheney: Exit stage left. Hearing rumors that Vice President Dick “Dead Eye” Cheney may be stepping down soon are as widespread as rumors about Barry Bonds retiring. I approach both with 2 thoughts; ‘Who cares,’ and ‘About time.’ In the last five years, we've heard numerous rounds of Cheney resignation rumors… now though, Insight magazine (a magazine aimed at Conservatives… so you know the stories have small words and lots of pictures… sorry, that was too easy) released an article that states “Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to retire within a year.” (All I can say to that is: be cautious of these wishes liberals, if Dick steps down as Veep, a stronger Republican will take his place and be in a position of advantage in 2008)

Presidential Protest. Despite having better ratings in the country than he does at home (which isn’t hard to do when your domestic approval ratings are 34%… 34%… 34– sorry), thousands of people protested Dubya’s visit to India today… (no, tomorrow… yesterday… whenever, damn international date line) It should also be noted that Bush remains more popular in India than in any other country, including his own. (Hmmmm? Maybe we could convince him to step down here and run for President in India… hey, one can dream can’t he?)

Nine word maximum. Anna Nicole Smith… United States Supreme Court… ‘nuff said.

Take them as you will…