The Bush Countdown Has Begun
For quite some time now, I’ve had a Bush countdown clock on my website (the javascript kind, I mean, though I also have some links there for buying the physical kind). Even back when Bush’s approval ratings were way above 60%, I was (at least for a while), number one in Google for “Bush is evil” and I already had my inauguration 2009 countdown clock spinning down on every page.
Then I noticed all sorts of products (like that swanky countdown clock to the left) and, as time went by, my crappy little site got pushed further and further down in Google for “Bush is evil”. Now, there is just incredible competition and, I have to say, for the most part I’ve moved beyond Bush in my head. I just don’t really care what happens to him. It’s unclear how much damage he can pack into his last year and half in office, but I don’t see any chance of him getting impeached or forced to resign and I don’t see him pushing through any more controversial policies. It’s just a question now of whether he gets pressured to fix the many civil liberties, foreign policy and environmental errors he’s made or whether he withstands the pressure and leaves the entire mess to his successor.
What I have found incredible lately, though, is the way in which the Republican party has already started its countdown to inauguration 2009. Some examples:
- Alberto Gonzales recently said that he would not step down and referred to his last eighteen months in office as “a sprint to the finish.” Now, Gonzales has only been AG for a bit over two years, so he may find eighteen months to be a long sprint (as may we all)
- Robert Gates, secretary of defense, has decided not to even attempt to get Peter Pace reappointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, because his hearing would basically be an occasion for an open discussion of the handling of the war in Iraq. Pace has, for the most part handled himself admirably, disagreeing with Rumsfeld on matters concerning torture and so forth, and I don’t think that his personal conduct is in question. Again, it is the countdown phenomenon.
- Meanwhile several top Republicans admitted to breathing a sigh of relief when Newt Gingrich lambasted Bush as incompetent. Why a sigh of relief? Because they all know that the crucial task of the Republican party right now is to get beyond Bush.
In short, the Bush administration is so embattled and so disgraced that both inside and out, the Republicans themselves are counting down to inauguration 2009. And outside the White House, they are hoping to make Bush appear as though he is already gone so that they can go out and campaign about the future, but the truth is, no matter how vulnerable the past makes Hillary Clinton, the present is going to be a heavier weight on the Republican candidates. Now if we can only get one inspiring candidate in the race. Is Obama inspiring? I thought so after the Democratic Covnention, but I haven’t seen anything especially inspiring. Clinton? Giuliani? McCain? Isn’t astounding that the wealthiest nation in the world, with the longest-standing tradition of being a democratic republic is stuck with these choices. Until I see someone inspiring (if Wellstone were still alive for example), I’m counting down, but with less and less enthusiasm all the time.
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