Red versus Blue

The New York Times has their version of the electoral map.

The two campaigns are, as of now, looking at 22 states between them, a playing field that is about one-third larger than it was at this point in 2000. Analysts say it could expand even more in the months ahead, before undergoing the contraction that inevitably takes place after Labor Day, as the campaigns take stock of where they stand for the remaining 60 days of the contest.

The map offers some hope that the reign of Crawford's Village Idiot will end in 2005, although I still scratch my head when trying to figure out how ANYONE could possibly support Bush. Can anyone really point to a positive accomplishment on his part? Iraq, previously contained, is a fucking mess, the economy's still as shaky as a drunk with the D.T.'s--in spite of $500 billion dollars in deficit finance, which isn't merely priming the pump, but more like spraying an entire can of nitro into the carbuerator--Afghanistan is a mess, democracy in Haiti has been subverted in favor of rule by death squads, our international reputation has been destroyed, but there are elements of the public who either can't think or won't think. If there was any genuine accounting for the last four years, we'd be looking at the potential for a fifty-state Kerry sweep.

Still, regardless of what happens in November, there will be a large increase in the number of chickens coming home to roost. And the ultimate legacy of one George W. Bush could well be that, on his watch, the decline of the United States was swift. Personal responsibility is one of his campaign slogans. I wonder if he means it...