Authoritah

Cartman
Originally uploaded by 3abbess.

For all the talk you hear of Bush Jr. as a petulant five-year-old, it always seemed like an exaggeration -- just so much hyperbolic rhetoric; satire. But no, satire is dead. It can't hold a candle to the real world. The President of the United States actually said this:

The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear -- I'm the commander guy.

So all this time that Junior's been playing the "trust the commanders' judgment" card, he didn't really mean that the professional soldiers should be the ones who make the decisions, he was just reverting to his default behavior of stamping his feet and demanding that everyone do what he wants. Or in other words:

You will respect my authoritah!

The thought of Eric Cartman occupying the White House and directing the government of the most powerful nation on earth is one to banish sleep for years. But it does explain more than a few things.

And as for Junior's abilities as the "commander guy", I'm reminded of comments made by General Norman Schwartzkopf when he was asked to evaluate another head of state posing as "commander guy":

He is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational art, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that.

A heckuva job, indeed.

How Stupid . . .

. . . is the Washington, DC press corps? White House press secretary Tony Snow clearly thinks the answer is "incredibly stupid", as shown by his comments at today's press briefing where he tried to explain away the internal Department of Justice documents that described most U.S. Attorneys as "loyal Bushies":

I've already told you what the definition of loyalty is in this White House, which is to do your job -- to understand that it is an honor to be in the White House, and an honor to serve the American people, and you treat that as a trust. Loyalty to the President means doing your job and faithfully carrying out the priorities of the administration.

-- Tony Snow, White House press briefing, March 16, 2006 (as quoted at TPMm)

Since even a first-grader could tell that Tony Snow is very clearly lying about "what the definition of loyalty is in this White House", he very clearly thinks that the White House press corps is collectively as dumb as the proverbial bag of hammers. Tomorrow's headlines will tell whether he's right; based on past experience I'd expect that he probably is.

Dumbest Fucking Guy On The Planet.com Was Taken

Doug Feith has a website. The thought that he ever had any influence over U.S. policy still dismays me. I sincerely hope that he devotes the rest of his life to his blog.