Out of the Loop

The New York Times reports that pResident Bush made a phone call--for all of twenty minutes (geez, you'd think he was on some sort of REALLY basic long distance plan)--to check on the situation in Iraq. So, what do you think Cheney told him? Perhaps, "Don't sweat it too much, boy. Take a nap, then clear some brush later this afternoon."

Meanwhile, Kay Bailey Hutchison has been revealing her inner ditz, opining that we've finally seen the elite Republican Guard--over there, not the servants who keep her Dallas area home tidy for when she arrives on weekends. What the hell is she drinking at lunchtime? Someone needs to be sure her iced tea glass has--iced tea.

At least Robert Byrd, in his advancing years, seems to have a lock on the situation: "Surely, the administration recognizes that increasing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq will only suck us deeper into the maelstrom of violence that has become the hallmark of that unfortunate country. Starkly put, at this juncture, more U.S. forces in Iraq equates more U.S. targets in Iraq."

It is exceedingly clear that the "plan" for the occupation was sort of like Bush's "plan" for the Middle East--long on wishful thinking, but short on specifics. That kind of stuff might be appropriate for high school debate class, but the highest elected official in the land--indeed, the most powerful individual on the planet--needs to show some real leadership. Vacations on the ranch at a time like this are worse than negligent. If you ask me, such actions should be grounds for impeachment.