Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

Psst… buddy. Hey… do you know what today is?

It’s Wednesday, which can only mean one thing… Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon… spread the word.

Timelines? We don’t need no stinkin’ timelines. Ya know, for a person who dislikes timelines, he uses them effectively. ‘President’ Bush vowed for the first time yesterday to turn over most of Iraq to newly trained Iraqi troops by the end of 2006 as he kicked off yet another meager attempt to reassure Americans about the War in Iraq along with the recent burst of sectarian violence. Dubya, who until now has shown a strong disdain for any sort of Iraq War timeline (even after it had lagged on longer than he, or anyone else in the administration, had expected) spoke of the target date earlier this week. (Brilliant… about friggin time. The only thing many people, including myself, wanted was a timeline of US troop withdrawal… now we have it and now it becomes a waiting game to see if Dubya was telling the truth or if this is a pitiable attempt to calm fears amid drastically falling polling numbers… stay tuned)

Snnnyyyxxxx…. Many of the president's top aides have been by his side for more than five years (that’s not including the first campaign, the [cough-cough] “recount” and transition) According to insiders, the people inside the White House are physically drained, emotionally exhausted and mentally spent (that was a short trip) after being battered by scandal and drained by political setbacks. All I can say is… ‘Karma, baby!’

When stamina falls, bring in fresh blood. A move is stirring among friends and confidantes of President Bush to persuade him to bring in (at least) one seasoned Republican veteran (or an “adult” as others have called for) to help his struggling staff. Clinton did it, Regan did it, but so far Bush is ignoring it. (This reminds me of the plot device that TV shows use when they bring in new kids when the other kids start getting too old… ya know, like The Cosby Show did. I can see it now… Bush, in an attempt to make his administration look younger and refreshed will bring in either Dan Quayle for that youthful, boyish feel or Bob Dole for that old coot, forgetful feel)

Traipsing across the country. Once again, President Bush is canvassing the nation in a feeble attempt to promote his Medicare Prescription plan. Yesterday, Bush and his entourage traveled to a western New York town to kick off a two-day administration effort to promote the new benefit that saw Bush urging senior citizens to enroll and stating the plan was ‘a good deal.’ Never mind the widespread confusion o date, 26 million senior citizens have signed up for the benefit. Not only has the benefit reduced drug costs for most enrollees, but federal costs for the plan are also running 20 percent lower than projected, he said.

What kind of an idiot is this attorney? A judge has barred a key government witnesses from testifying at the death penalty trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. In a ruling handed down yesterday, the judge stated that the misconduct of a federal lawyer had so tainted the proceedings that all evidence concerning aviation security must be stricken from the records. Turns out the attorney, after numerous orders not to coach any witnesses… coached the witnesses. What an idiot… now the entire case against the one person who can be held accountable for 9/11 is in danger of being erased. Stupid is, as stupid does.

A call for censure. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) has called for a formal censure of President Bush for (according to some) clearly violating a federal statute regulating domestic surveillance. I’ve posted about this issue already this week, and still am not sure of Feingold’s motives… but I stand by what I said earlier this week; it’s time for the Democrats to unite and strike a single voice and a single message as, once again, opportunity is knocking and we’re all acting like it’s a traveling salesman at the door rather than a golden chance to DO something.

Liars, liars pants on fire? The Dubai-owned company based out of the UAE, remember them, the ones who had promised to surrender its U.S. port operations, has no immediate plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary's interests at Miami's seaport. Sigh… just when you think this story is done, it comes back…

President rants, General recants. Earlier this week, the President suggested in a speech that Iran was involved in making roadside bombs (otherwise known as improvised explosive devices or IED’s) that are being used in Iraq. This came after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Iran of sending members of its Revolutionary Guard to conduct operations in Iraq. Yesterday, General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he has no evidence that the Iranian government has been sending military equipment and personnel into neighboring Iraq. And now the White House is defending the President’s claim… (I’ve heard of not allowing the right hand know what the left hand is doing… but come on now… shouldn’t the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the President be on the same damn page??? Here’s a brilliant concept guys; communication)

Statistically speaking he’s in Nixon-Land. In the latest round of polling, President Bush’s approval ratings… hee hee hee, are still… hee hee hee, falling faster than xx with a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showing his favorables at 36% (for those of you with acalculia, that means 64% disapprove of his job performance) All I can say to that is, ‘Karma, baby!’ What goes around, comes around… and it’s coming faster than shotgun pellets shot from Dick Cheney’s gun.

Here we go again… Another former White House aide was arrested on a theft charge after he admitted to a store investigator that he fraudulently returned merchandise that he didn't buy. Police allege that Claude Allen, a former domestic policy adviser to the “President”, made fraudulent returns worth at least $5,000 at various stores (including Target) in the Washington suburbs on 25 different occasions. Nice… the hits just keep on coming don’t they…

Watch for the windowless vans. An FBI agent stationed in Pittsburgh took pictures of various members of an antiwar activist group back in 2002. At least that's what documents released by the American Civil Liberties Union (again, a group that I am not a big fan of). The ACLU stated that this disclosure is just the latest incident in which the FBI has monitored left-leaning groups. With my dislike for the ACLU, I urge you all to make up your own minds on this story...

Take them as you will…