Must read cover article in new Newsweek: Bush In The Bubble

Methinks this one had best be checked out. It's long. And worth it. Confirms what we know, that * is dangerously out of touch. Full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10417159/site/newsweek/

. . .President Bush has always shown an admirable ability to ignore the Washington pundits and make fun of the chattering classes. Yet his inattention to Murtha, a coal-country Pennsylvanian and rock-solid patriot, suggests a level of indifference, if not denial, that is dangerous for a president who seeks to transform the world. All presidents face a tension between sticking to their guns and dealing with changing reality. History suggests it can be a mistake to listen too closely to the ever-present (and often self-aggrandizing) critics. But likewise, the idea that any president can go it alone is, to say the least, problematic. . .

. . .True mandates for hard choices come from reaching out and compromising. Bush's father understood that. Breaking his own "read my lips" promise at the 1988 Republican convention, he raised taxes in 1991 as part of a fiscal-reform package that was essential to the 1990s economic boom. The tax hike probably cost the senior Bush a second term in 1992. But it was the right thing to do. It's very unlikely the son would do the same.

He was out of touch, no question. But he was a consensus president, in terms of listening to others, and working to build a coalition about Kuwait. He had a decent respect for the opinions of mankind, which his son and his Orcs do not have. His son obviously holds his father's presidency in contempt, which is fascinating, but scary. Reagan was a far better president than *, too, and so were James Buchanan and Warren Harding. We are in danger with this man in office for another three years. He may melt down, and do anything to retain power. What form that will take, is chilling to think about.

Does this imply that anyone less than a war/defence hawk is not a real patriot?

impugned in any way, shape, or form. So Bush shouldn't even try it.

I like the cut of your jib. Yes, you are right - I have been troubled by the same thing, despite my admiration of John Murtha. Gene McCarthy was a patriot, and I am too, and it's because of, not in spite of, my opposition to this war. No, you don't have to be a former hawk, or veteran, who "gets it" about this insane war. But, let there be no doubt - those who would send young men and women into harm's way while actively doing everything they could to avoid service themselves are beneath contempt. And we know who they are.

I'd like to see the "Bubble Boy" picture on the cover of Newsweek made into a bumpersticker.

Probably O'Reilly, too, now that he has determined that dropping any pretense that he may not be a Fascist is not in his financial interests. Newsweek has guts with this one. Look out.