The Charge of the Light Bush Brigade

I keep wondering why the Bushies, more than any other administration really (especially in the last month) want not just to survive their term and get their way but to confront their enemies.
Part of the answer, I think, is that Bush has adopted the Rove-style tactic of attacking the strength of the enemy. This can be either brave (Rommel), foolhardy (Pickett's charge) or suicidal (Custer's last stand), depending on degree. Lately, Bush seems to be in the Custer category.

But that’s not enough to explain the latest series of Executive Orders, giving the president ‘emergency powers’, and it certainly doesn’t explain the declaration of universal executive privilege.

So, what’s happened to Bush?

I think it is in Bush's obsession with being vindicated, either by history, or in this case by the Supreme Court. He really doesn't want or need the powers he is exercising, but he wants to do something epic (or in this case infamous). Iraq is not going to do it. We aren’t going to conquer Iran. Afghanistan is a mess. He is perceived as a puppet, a cipher, in the Middle East, of the Saudis, of the religious right, and even of the business cronies, like Cheney, that profit, far more than he, from his largesse.

We always knew that Bush was a megalomaniac, but this desire to get back to the head of his parade is new. The proof of his insecurities seem to be growing. It seems to be coming through most as his time in office grows short. He's running out of time to have an impact on history, before we put him out to pasture.

Maybe he would consider Olbermann's suggestion that he take up arms in his own war. He'd probably fancy being like Patton, going around reviewing troops with a riding crop in his hand. I see him more like Slim Pickens, riding the bomb down to the ground in Strangelove, waving his stetson.

In any case, he is pretty sure he won't go down in history as the first president removed by impeachment. And now, I don't want him to. I want him to go down in history with his name on a series of United States v. George W. Bush rulings. Can this Supreme Court be so insane as to believe the idea that the Congress has no investigative power over the executive? I don't think so.

What might happen if the Supreme Court rules against him? If he were an ordinary president, I'd say he'll just sit back and look for sites for his presidential library. has assembled a world class team of stonewallers, stallers and liars. He has a Congress that barely is past the toddler stage of bravery. He only has a year and a half to go. He could probably take the rest of his term off and Congress would never lay a glove on him or any other executive.

But will that be enough for the Mad King George? I think not. I think he won't be happy until he goes down in a blaze of glory. That means picking new fights, each broader and crazier than the last until someone stops him. You see, we thought he was a sneak like Nixon, saying catch me if you can, or an obdurate but basically hollow man like Reagan, saying "I yam what I yam". No, he's crazier. He's saying "Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!"

How can we get him his martyrdom? And what will it cost us?

Let us pray.

A song for Alberto

Oh my name is Alberto,
I look kinda like a turtle,
I stamp memos for torture all day,

I'm kinda ineffectual,
but that just satisfactual,
I don't get too much in the way,

So, one day I get a call from Rovey,
he said it would be groovy,
if I would sack attorneys for him,

You see they did some diggin,
and some pigeons started singin,
Casualties were gonna get grim

That's not among our troops, of course,
Our loyal American fightin force,
I mean our donation roll's not so large,

Now I'm in charge of Justice,
But I don't know how I musta,
been appointed by someone in charge,

In front of the nation,
Can't remember my relation-
ship to decisions I'm sure that I made,

I'll have to get back to ya,
With an answer for you Senator,
Just after Inaguration Day.

I'm kinda ineffectual,
but that just satisfactual,
So I don't get too much in the way,