The Weekly Screed

Bush Is Toast

First, this week's award for the most amusing interpretation of international news as an expression of American pop-culture goes to Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. Commenting on America's rapidly deteriorating standing in the world in the wake of the latest developments in Iraq, Friedman wrote , "I have never known a time in my life when America and its president were more hated around the world than today... It's no wonder that so many Americans are obsessed with the finale of the sitcom "Friends" right now. They're the only friends we have, and even they're leaving."

It's not unusual to see Friedman writing critically of the Bush administration, though Friedman goes out of his way to provide a fresh and global perspective on the issues facing us. He has recently spent time in India exploring the controversies around the issues of outsourcing American tech-support jobs to call centers in Bangalore, and came away with the realization that "people who work for you are much less inclined to want to blow you up," or something to that effect. At least he managed to convey that there is more than one side to that particular issue.

But I am beginning to see cracks in the usual foundations of support for Bush and his attempts to "change the world" by making it safe for Democracy, Barbie Dolls, Big Macs and Halliburton. Even stalwart, right-leaning outlets like the Wall Street Journal, while still supporting the basic thrust of the administration's policies are beginning to take exception to the way those policies are being implemented.

Last week, the Journal ran an op-ed story under the headline, A Politically Weak President that said, among other things, "a clear plurality of Americans believe America is headed in the wrong direction, lack confidence on the economy and Iraq and believe the country can do better than George W. Bush in the White House."

I think that's the first time that the Journal has even hinted that Bush may be in the final months of his presidency, and while the journal has yet to actually come out and endorse "regime change" in Washington, the article does suggest some ways that John Kerry can assure that outcome, which we'll get to shortly.

If it should come to pass that Bush is "redefeated", then we may have a hapless soldier, Private First Class Linndie England to thank for that outcome. Private England, is the charming young woman we have all seen by now pictured at the business end of a leash, at the other end of which is one of the poor Iraqi citizens we are supposedly trying to "liberate" by incarcerating them in Saddam Hussein's most notorious prison and torture house. Boy, there's a woman who's got some problems with men -- a perfect example of American ideals to send abroad. Nice work, Linndie. And if Bush goes down.... thank you.

There May Be Hope After All!

When the Wall Street Journal - the most right-leaning and Bush-supporting of the major national newspapers - presents a convincing argument that Bush is "A Politically Weak President" -- despite Kerry's seeming lack of momentum -- it's worth taking note.

To wit:

"The president clings to a small lead, within the margin of error, in a head-to-head with Sen. Kerry in this poll. Incumbents invariably have a lead in the spring of an election year, and a margin this small typically spells trouble for a sitting president."
....
"In the hand-wringing over his deficiencies, the Kerry strengths are sometimes overlooked. He has passed a critical threshold; most Americans think he's experienced and knowledgeable enough to be president, and he has commander-in-chief credentials. This isn't a campaign that needs to be overhauled, but it needs to add some smart and experienced talent that can address some clear flaws. If that's done, and the candidate responds accordingly and stops waffling, a good convention -- and an inspired vice-presidential choice -- can wipe out many of the negatives planted by the Bush campaign."

Here's the full text, which is available to non-subscribers to the WSJ for only a week:

WSJ.com - Politics & People

Why This Election is So Important

I was recently asked to say in just a few sentences why I think "the upcoming election is so important." Here's my best attempt to boil it down to "a few sentences:"

- - - - - - - - -

The 2004 presidential election will determine whether we let the seeds of fear germinate into the roots of fascism.

Mussolini defined fascism as "the merger of state and corporate power." With its big tax breaks for the wealthy, industry-favoring environmental policies, pocket-lining Medicare programs, and private-enterprise invasion of Iraq, the Bush/Cheney administration has made that relationship the cornerstone of our public life.

But there is an even greater danger lurking: that the Federal Government will soon be overrun by right-wing fundamentalists who flunked Civics 101 and truly believe that the separation of church and state applies only to non-Christian denominations.

If Bush is "re-elected," then State and Corporate power will be combined with Evangelistic zealotry into an ideological triumvirate that threatens to undermine the secular foundations of all our public institutions. Stir into that already festering stew our brooding apprehension about the terror lurking around every corner, and you have the perfect formula for a theocratic police state. Do not believe for a moment that "it can't happen here."

At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked if the new nation was to have a monarchy or a republic. "A republic," Franklin replied, "if you can keep it." The challenge to preserve our republic, and the secular institutions on which it was founded, is every bit as dramatic now as it was in Franklin's day.

---PS