Politics: Not So Exciting

I love the Holiday Season if for no other reason than the politicians are back home or cavorting in New Hampshire, mugging for the cameras and spouting empty platitudes. Mostly, they're not in Washington, not dripping condescending venom, and not legislating anything. Bliss.

The next two years will be more of the same (Please note that I'm a notoriously bad predictor). There are so many presidential aspirants and sycophants that everyone is going to try to at least appear civilized. Screw the President? Not without looking like a pin-headed obstructionist. Scream and rant? Not unless the image of anti-gravitas wants to be put forth. Bail from Iraq and trumpet anti-troops messages? Invoke that political death-wish if one must.

Oh no, the next two years will overflow with displays of herculean restraint. Everyone is fixated on the Big Prize. The Dems are coming out early and burn, burn, burning through the populace's five-minute attention span. The Republicans are wandering around like the lost bird in Are You My Mother? Will we get a back hoe as the nominee? Stay tuned.

While Bush displays weariness and strange enthusiasm for legislation no one wants, he has shown bursts of the long tall Texan that grates on the world so much. Thankfully, kinda. I hope he puts some of that spine into going the distance in Iraq. He has two years left. I'd be happy if he got out a box of those Sharpies he loves so much and vetoes every piece of legislation that walks across his desk. With the make-up of the Congress it's bound to be bad stuff.

And screw this stupid legacy talk. I hated the navel gazing with Clinton and I don't hate it less with Bush. Who gives a flip? It will be a good ten to twenty-five years before anyone has any perspective on this complicated time. And yes, count me as one of those people peeved at Bush's spending like a shopaholic on a bender.

Hating Bush is de rigeur these days, but even Progressives (and mushy moderates) are going to have to come to terms with the world's realities eventually. Or do they have some super secret special invisible shield to cover the whole country? I don't know, Barack Obama just might.