January 20

Wow, it's been a whole year since Inauguration Day!

I remember how long it seemed from Election Day 2008 to January 20, 2009. We had that infernal, terrible George W. Bush in there. And one day was like an eternity with him.

I see President Obama put Bush in charge of something to do with Haiti. So of course there's no hope now.

But now we've got a whole year since those dark days of the Bush administration. And as it turns out, it hasn't been easy or all that positive.

I still think President Obama is doing a reasonably good job. I just don't think he fights very well. He seems to be a creampuff who doesn't mind getting his butt kicked on a daily basis. But hey, maybe he'll wise up now that we've lost the Senate seat in Massachusetts (of all places).

But even if he doesn't wise up, he's still not George W. Bush. And for that, he deserves our highest praise.

President Obama On Letterman

I didn't get to see the whole show, just the tiny clip they had on CBS this morning.

But President Obama looked great and did great with the little banter they had going there. He's impressive. It was nice to see the audience give him a good welcome. But Dave said they had cleared the place of Republican Congressmen, so there weren't any disruptions.

Dave was also saying some things about the tight security, and I'll bet it was! That's a good thing, knowing how many absolute wackos there are in this country who would harm the president. I wonder why some of the wackos who carry their guns to Obama rallies weren't there, demanding entrance.

Seeing the president on TV quite a bit lately, it's renewing my confidence. Anyone who says President Obama is overexposed is either lying or jealous ... or, more likely, partisan. I say when you got it going on like he does, there's no reason to stay home.

We have these other cretins, like Peggy Noonan, saying the president on TV is being "boorish." Nonsense. He's as refined as they come. If by some fluke he could've been a Republican, of course she'd be singing a different tune. I wonder if she ever called Bush "boorish," because I don't know ... maybe Bush could've been "boorish," if he worked real hard, he might've climbed up to that status. He was "ultra sub boorish."

I get a kick out of watching this charming guy -- President Obama -- on TV. And I guess I get a kick out of the fact that we have all these true wackos sitting at home, seething about everything he does. Maybe when he thinks of them, he puts forth an extra grin. He's a beautiful guy.

It's September 12 -- Obama Beats Bush

Way to go! Drinks all around!

We don't know what will happen in the future but we can see the past pretty clearly.

George W. Bush only kept us safe up till the morning of 9/11. Barack Obama has now gone beyond Bush, since it's now 9/12 and counting.

Great job! A grateful nation salutes your competence.

Ahhh, The Smell Of Actual Liberty

Up till yesterday I've been merely happy that we're finally rid of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. After the inauguration of course I had that giddiness but I'd let it slip a little. Like when you take the garbage out, once they haul it away you don't think about it that much.

With yesterday being Sept. 10, it suddenly occurred to me that we were on the eve once again of Sept. 11! And it suddenly occurred to me as well that this is the first 9/11 without the criminality of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney plaguing our nation on that and every other day.

How terrible every 9/11 observance was! Having Bush and Cheney and the rest of their despicable henchmen exploiting the tragedy for their crass political gain. Remember back, think back, how terrible it was, the way they used 9/11 as a cudgel for everything they wanted. They made so many trips to the 9/11 well they pumped it dry! It was ridiculous.

I don't want to make everyone sick with all these bad memories, but if you haven't eaten yet, think back to how often the words "9/11" and "September 11" came off of Bush's lying lips -- like every other word. The moron took the biggest monument to his incompetence as a badge of honor.

When the nation rallied around him in those terrible days, he mistakenly took it as some kind of endorsement of him personally. But they knew in the White House, it wasn't an endorsement, but was something out of fear and our common cause. And that's what they exploited, over and over and over again. For that alone, the criminal Bush administration must never be forgiven.

For the Bush White House, 9/11 was the perfect excuse to go to war. And go to war we did, with a vengeance. Unfortunately the vengeance was against the wrong ones, duh. Like we were saying at the time: Pearl Harbor was attacked and we went to war with Australia! We decided the best way to go after Al Qaeda was to take out Saddam Hussein, a total disconnect from reality!

All this was very convenient, since the Bushies had that in mind even while Bill Clinton was president. And having come into power with the same desire, what better way to get Hussein than to tar him with the stink of 9/11? That, my friends, is exploitation. And that was criminal. Think of all the people who died through the evil of the Bush administration. It's 9/11 multiplied many times.

Think of the awful putrescence of having George W. Bush commemorate 9/11 every year. Like he was some kind of super patriot. George W. Bush was a scourge. And, with Cheney, a waste of space.

The first 9/11 without these crooks! Ahhh, this is the smell of actual liberty!

Tom Ridge Backpedals, Changes Story

5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. There it is.

Tom Ridge, under no pressure from absolutely no one, suddenly and for no reason other than his own determination, suffering no influence from anyone, changed his story about being pressured by Bush administration colleagues to raise the terror level during the 2004 campaign or any other time.

Yes, it seems it is still in print that that is what he said a few weeks ago, and meant to say. But now he realizes, no, nothing of the sort occurred.

We'll post details if we find them, of his thinking process. Because we are absolutely sure that there has been no outside influence on this decision to revisit his thoughts and re-remember them differently. As far as any pressure, again, we can lay all that to rest. It didn't happen. It's not happening now. It will not happen in the future.

President Obama Tonight

The guy continues to amaze me. I think he's a great president.

I don't understand at all the opinion polls that show that he's losing some favor with the American people. It makes me wonder what they're expecting. He was given the worst problems since the Great Depression from the Bush administration. It's going to take some effort to clean it up.

And they complain that his stimulus isn't working fast enough. Which is an interesting complaint, since the Republicans' prescription for what ailed us was to do nothing. How doing nothing would be proactively any better than doing something, that's a head scratcher.

I wonder if the Republicans use that logic if one of their houses is on fire. Should I call the fire department? Why bother? The fire will go out eventually. But wouldn't it be worth the effort to save your house, if possible, or at least some of your stuff, or keep other houses in the neighborhood from burning down? It seems like that's what we have a fire department for.

Anyway, the President was on tonight and I watched big chunks of it. Good stuff. The man's still got it. He is as smart as they come. And he seemed to have some confidence that this health care reform would get done and that it would be a positive thing. When it came to George Bush, if he said the same thing I wouldn't have believed him. If George Bush offered a child a shiny quarter he'd be lying. But not Obama. He's believable and decent.

Unprecedented Access

This video is so hilarious. Hilarious and sad at the same time. Fox News is so transparently corrupt, there's simply no shame.

I'm Losing Track

Wow, I've been out of touch. I'm losing track of all the give and take between Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich, and all the other Republican clowns. And when I say I'm losing track, I mean exactly that.

I keep checking on the blogs I look at, and there are the headlines, what one of these (I'll say it again) clowns has said today or yesterday, and it just starts to run together, like fountain pen ink in a rainstorm. Or like mascara when you've been crying.

As far as Michael Steele goes, maybe I'm living in a circular world in which the same report is being processed and reprocessed over and over. Or maybe this guy just never shuts his mouth. Is he giving interviews in his sleep? Once you've been burnt on some of the stupid stuff you say ... it's just my opinion ... but it seems like you'd fly below the radar for a while. Or is his job just to be incendiary and let the chips fall where they may?

Newt Gingrich wants to jump into the mix and seems to be doing so more and more. He thinks he has a chance. I don't think he has a chance. I think his best days are behind him. And they weren't that great. Rush, I don't listen to him, but somehow it seems like I've heard that he's pulling back a bit. And Dick Cheney, the guy is such a disgrace -- doubtlessly guilty of crimes against humanity -- it seems like he would want to keep a lower profile. But I suppose when you were at death's door over 10 years ago with heart problems, you're not that worked up now about what might happen to you.

And Cheney obviously thinks the best defense is a good offense, or the best way to play is to stay on offense as much as possible. And there's a certain logic in putting it blatantly "in our face," and thereby keeping his risk down. It's counterintuitive. I believe we've seen that over the years. If you're going to muck up things, muck up the water, do it in a blatant, drastic, overwhelming way. Take Clinton for an example, he did some little thing and got nailed for it. But if he had some it in a blatant, drastic, overwhelming way, the case would have been so complicated and convoluted no one would've known what to do about it.

I can't believe I'm about to say something nice about George W. Bush. At least he's had the decency to keep a fairly low profile.

Bush's Wreckage

Even if George W. Bush escapes justice in one sense, at least we got him in another way -- the GOP losing its appeal in almost every demographic group. I guess you can't run a criminal administration, neglect the people, trash the nation and actually get away with it (in every sense of the word, that is.)

We actually know who the crooks were, the Republicans. And now they get to pay the price. May they rot forever.

A Gallup poll shows, "The only subgroup in which the party saw a slight increase in support from 2001 to 2009 was frequent churchgoers."

The biggest decline was with the college-educated, 18 to 29-year-olds, and Midwestern voters, down around 10%.

I love it. I just wish it was worse for them.

Pelosi

I believe Nancy Pelosi, that the CIA lied to her and the Congress about waterboarding. Was there anything about the Bush administration that was the least bit truthful? I mean, c'mon!

But it's kind of weird that Leon Panetta, checking the official records, says they didn't lie. The records, he says, show that they briefed Congress about the waterboarding, blah blah blah.

This is the CIA we're talking about here. None of those guys would have any ability whatsoever to falsify records from seven or eight years ago, would they? They're spies, for crying out loud! They have all kinds of abilities, one would hope. If they're able to do infiltration, sabotage, go undercover among the world's worst terrorists, and all that ... are we really to think they're such Sunday School children that they wouldn't be able to do some cosmetic surgery on records from seven or eight years ago?

Give us a break.

I don't know the full story, of course. But, again, nothing about Bush's government was truthful. They were liars first, last, and always. Maybe they can pull the wool over Panetta's eyes so easily, but I tend to look at their denials somewhat askance.

Cheney Ought To Shut Up

...but really, I guess I don't want him to. I wanted him to shut up till it was pointed out how much dead weight he is for the Republicans. Now, as long as I can turn him off, I want him to keep yakking it up. All the way through the 2010 elections would be great.

But he really ought to shut up. The guy's a continual reminder of the worst administration in anyone's memory. The Bush administration was one massive failure and a criminal enterprise at that. Anything that reminds us of that dark chapter in American history should obviously make the Democratic prospects brighter. Because you have to be one sicko to want to return to those perverted years.

And what Cheney's yakking it up about! LOL! How great torture is! Which of course they denied doing at the time, since they're pathological liars. And how Obama is not keeping us safe. Which brings up a great point. Just once I'd love to hear one of the worthless talking heads on TV say, "Mr. Cheney, you have pointed that that President Obama is not keeping us safe." He's nodding in the affirmative. "Remind us again where you were on 9/11." Why the country ever gave Bush and Cheney a pass for 9/11 has been a mystery to me.

Anyway, if I'm Cheney, mum's the word. As much as a criminal as he is, I would definitely exercise my right to remain silent.

My George W. Bush Wad

Sorry to disappoint any readers at dbkundalini, but I already blew my George W. Bush wad for the day over at Pimp My Skivvies. That was what I could muster for the day.

It was sickening to see the report on Countdown, tonight hosted by David Schuster. I used to think that David was just reading from the prompter when Keith was away. But I've heard him numerous times stepping out in a fairly progressive way. He's not trying to be Mr. Objective, in other words, but is willing to talk about Bush's corrupt ways. They had a graphic on the screen, Bush's "Liebrary," which is very fitting.

But we got to see a reel of video of Bush as David spoke, and another guy, a Mr. Moore from Huffington Post. What is it with these little reels of video. They're about a minute long and they keep showing them over and over? What would be so hard about it for a major news organization, which isn't NBC one?, to make a five minute reel so we're not seeing the same thing over and over? I haven't gotten this one for a long time. In eight years of his presidency, surely he has generated at least five or 10 minutes of footage that they'd have access to.

The real treat would be not to even mention Bush. Which I know I'm doing, so who am I to talk? It was great to hear Mr. Moore say that Bush is persona non grata in his home state. I don't know Latin that well but I believe persona non grata literally means "a steaming turd." Which is obviously applicable to Bush.

OK, that's it for the day. Hey, who knew I had two George W. Bush wads to blow?

President Obama's 100th Day

Wow, time really flies when you have a competent president!

I don't know what all President Obama has done in his 100 days. I've been halfway paying attention and halfway not. Most of the things I've heard have sounded good, appropriate, and decent.

The biggest thing he's done is to replace that stinking George W. Bush. Every day is a day to celebrate that Bush's criminal administration has finally gone down the toilet where it belongs. I just pity the poor guys at the sewage plant who have to process that crap. Because it's a bunch and it's rancid.

That Obama is our man in the White House is still like something too good to be true. But I've pinched myself red and by golly, he's still there as big as life!

Long live President Obama! By the way, he's already got my vote in 2012!

Torture

I'm amazed at the Republicans justifying torture now, after all those years telling us, "America does not torture." It turns out now, Yes, we do, and God bless us. They were more than happy to lie about it at the time and now more than happy to admit it, although of course with a justification. Then, it was a matter of getting away with it. Now, they can claim they "kept us safe."

Bah. I'm thinking of the phrase, "Not in my name." This is not one of those things where the ends justify the means. This is a nasty little something called Crimes Against Humanity. At some point we need to realize our "exceptionalism" isn't so exceptional; it's the same old crimes.

When you don't have any good ethical standard, there's no reason for anyone to follow the law. When we're in war, there's no reason whatsoever for our enemies to refrain from torturing us, if we approve it for them. We were complaining when the Iraqi guys were lopping off heads there for a while. What right did we have to complain? After all, our standard is this, whatever it takes in the moment that you perceive might do you some good now or in the time to come is allowed. Those guys cutting off heads could justify it, too, on those nebulous grounds.

The way I've always thought of America -- and I guess this would be where the "exceptionalism" comes in -- is that we're exceptionally good. We don't do what terrorists do. We don't do what Nazis do. We have standards. We follow the law. We're the guys in the white hats. But George W. Bush's administration followed a different standard. Like devils. And that's what the Republicans are still standing up for.

Cheney - Blah!

You remember Cheney, the ex-vice president and current scumbag extraordinaire? The guy's out of office but that doesn't stop him from doing his level best to muck up the world some more. Of course he doesn't have a shred of dignity, but with his post vice-presidency he's delving into minus points territory.

When he was veep, we had no idea where the idiot was. Now that he's out of office, he's up with the morning sun and basically blocking our view. His dark shadow dims every day. And what's he got to say for himself? Nothing much for himself. But he keeps close tabs on President Obama, and guess what, he doesn't like anything Obama does. That's kind of weird for a guy who ran a warmongering, criminal enterprise while he was in office. It seems like someone like that would at least have enough self-interest to keep his yap shut now.

I'd keep my yap shut if I were him, because of course Obama has enough goods on Cheney to lock him away for life, however short that may be, since he about keeled over from heart troubles 10 years ago. Sheesh.

OK, what terrible thing has Obama done now? Pull Dick's string. Hear Dick speak. Speak, Dick, speak. On second thought, please spare us, moron.

Oh, OK, what's he got to say this time? He's criticizing Obama (yawn) for daring to shake the hand of Hugo Chavez. That's going to make us weak, going to make our enemies think we're pushovers, make .... oh, who cares?

After all, thanks to Cheney's idiotic policies while in office, we haven't got the luxury right this minute of going to war with everyone in the world. Maybe we need to give peace a chance, if that's OK with the war criminals. I say put Cheney on trial. Give him a fair trial. And when the guilty verdict comes in, let the penalty fit the crimes.

Then go after his underling, George W. Bush. He's probably just as guilty. Ignorance is no excuse, right?

Shut Up, Republican Moron

President Obama did the exact right thing in being a nice guy at this meeting of leaders from the western hemisphere. Including Hugo Chavez.

But you know who he probably shouldn't meet with, some of his Republican critics. Who basically spend everyday simply looking for something to nitpick. Here's our loser of the day:

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) told CNN today that it was "irresponsible" for Obama to be seen "laughing and joking" with the Venezuelan president.

Good grief. You believe in gun rights, right? Shoot me now. This is getting ridiculous.

Yes, maybe Chavez isn't the world's greatest guy. But if we can't engage other people around the world without the Republicans nitpicking and scolding, please, what do these jackals think diplomacy is exactly? You don't need diplomacy only for your friends. In fact, it seems obvious you need it more for those who might not be your friends. Sheesh.

If Obama can be a nice guy, that's being diplomatic. What would Ensign (this jerk) want him to do, spit in Chavez' face?

Anyway, saying Chavez isn't the world's greatest guy isn't to say he's all bad. Remember, he did call George W. Bush "the devil" that one time. He was right on that score. Although it would've been helpful if he'd've added a few choice adjectives, like "George W. Bush is a low down, deceiving, skunk of a devil" or something colorful like that. Just to make it more accurate.

A Uniter, Not A Divider

Scott Wilson has an article in the Washington Post, wringing his hands that President Obama shouldn't pin our economic crisis on George W. Bush. The premise is that Obama campaigned as someone who wanted to rise above partisanship.

Piffle. Rising above partisanship doesn't mean you ignore the plain truth of the matter. Nor does it mean taking the blame for eight years of failure and mismanagement. That would be a cushy job, huh? You have someone who burns down the house, then you step into the rubble and say, "Look at the house that I destroyed!"

Plus, there's an obvious problem with part of the premise of this paragraph:

Upon entering the White House in 2001, Bush pinned the lackluster economy on his predecessor, using the "Clinton recession" to successfully argue in favor of tax cuts that won some Democratic support. But for Obama, who built his candidacy on a promise to rise above Washington's divisive partisan traditions -- winning over many independent voters and moderate Republicans in the process -- blaming his predecessor holds special risks. [my emphasis]

As I recall the 2000 election, George Bush declared himself "a uniter, not a divider," and he promised to 'reach across the aisle' much as he had done as governor of Texas. He didn't come into office promising to govern as a hyper-partisan. How fast we forget!

Next Phony Controversy, Please

What, no stories of breaking off typewriter keys? This is the phoniness the Republicans have come up with this time? That not wearing a jacket in the Oval Office is a sign of disrespect for the office, the presidency, the constitution, motherhood, apple pie, and torture?

According to Andy Card, former Chief of Idiots in the Bush years, if Obama decides he works best in a shirt sans jacket, he's doing a bad thing. Leaving behind all questions of what business this is, precisely, of Andy's, since Obama is free to do what he wants; and leaving behind all discussion of how men's fashions have changed over the years, making it nothing close to a question of absolutes; let us wonder, is Andy 100 per cent consistent on this topic? For if he is, then the photo above of St. George W. Bush ought to give him pause. What is this my beholding eyes are witnessing? Could it be his jacket was at the cleaners that day? Did a terrorist steal it? After all, Bush was looking for WMD in the Oval Office, so terrorists could have been there...

Good grief, imagine, Andy's looking to GEORGE BUSH for the standard of what's right! Ha ha. Who are some of his other heroes? Capone, Dillinger?

Bush's Last Night In The White House

Clean out your drawers. Have someone at the door to make sure he doesn't steal any towels.

It's my sincere hope that he's not in the war room about to invade China or some other country.

I heard that he was going to have a quiet dinner in the White House with his wife, daughters, and parents.

It might be worth going to bed extra early tonight just so his term will speed by that much quicker.

We might not have Bush to kick around much longer (thank God), but we'll never forget how much of a miserable failure he was.

It's Really Happening

I only caught moments of all the coverage taking place in Washington, D.C. But what I saw tells me that it's really happening.

Bush came in on Helicopter 1 from Camp David, returning to the White House. I hope he went straight to his room and packed his stuff.

Obama has had his magnificent train ride and is at the Blair House. They've got people everywhere, tomorrow is MLK Day, that'll be big. Security is everywhere. The stands are up. The speech is ready.

There's a countdown on the number of hours we still have left to suffer Bush. I don't know what the total is. But around 1 p.m. I heard them say less than 50.