How’s this for an idea: anyone who voted for George W. Bush in 2004 is stripped of their right to vote in the ‘08 presidential election. I’m willing to cut some slack for someone who voted for him in 2000, but saw the light by ‘04, but if you voted for W in ‘04, you should be forced to sit out ‘08. It’s for the good of the country. We just can’t afford having another election influenced by those senseless enough to reelect George W. Bush.
I believe the train wreck that is the G W Bush administration can be explained as a perfect storm of arrogance, ignorance, and indolence. More recently though, W has seemed like someone who has just given up. Gail Collins described W’s recent address before the Economic Club of New York:
“You’ve helped make our country really in many ways the economic envy of the world,” he told the Economic Club of New York.
You could almost see the thought-bubble forming over the audience: Not this week, kiddo.
The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still. As he searched for the name of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (“the king, uh, the king of Saudi”) and made guy-fun of one of the questioners (“Who picked Gigot?”), you had to wonder what the international financial community makes of a country whose president could show up to talk economics in the middle of a liquidity crisis and kind of flop around the stage as if he was emcee at the Iowa Republican Pig Roast.
The president’s job description when speaking before a group could be summed in four words: “read from the teleprompter.” Instead of appearing modestly prepared, he gives off the attitude of a student who is just coasting through his final days of high school. Last week he evidently had nothing better to do than to stand around outside of the White House waiting for John McCain. He had so much time, he decided to dance for the press:
Collins goes on to point out that we deserve what we’re getting:
The country that elected George Bush — sort of — because he seemed like he’d be more fun to have a beer with than Al Gore or John Kerry is really getting its comeuppance. Our credit markets are foundering, and all we’ve got is a guy who looks like he’s ready to kick back and start the weekend.
It will take decades to undo the damage caused by W and the next election is too important to be influenced by those who helped inflict GWB on the United States. They should stand aside and let the competent voters decide the next election.
