No, George, those boos from the inaugural crowd won’t boos for Clinton or Carter. Not even for your dad, of whom I actually have a higher opinion. No, those boos, those catcalls of “na na na na, na, na, na, na, hey, hey, goodbye” were very much meant for you.
But in a strange sense, in retrospect, I’m glad you “won” (for lack of a better term) in 2000 and 2004. Because Obama’s election showed that Americans thoroughly repudiated your rule by fear. You tried to implement an empire against your better judgment, if there was such a thing. You invaded a country and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians because that country’s former leader was – in your eyes – worse than Hitler (how I’m not sure), connected to 9/11 (we know better) and tried to assassinate your dad. Excellent rationale, junior.
You became the equivocator, the false commanderer/deciderer-in-chief with a similarly false sense of misplaced bravado. Your astounding delegation of power and contempt for detail (and proper grammar) actually prompted your fellow neo-cons to believe you were a messiah of some sort meant to lead the U.S. to permanent Republican rule without checks and balances.
Your loyalists used various means (mainly though a lapdog corporate media) to imply that dissent and criticism was tantamount of treachery. Even the first few days into Obama’s new administration, the Faux News website practically allows wingnuts to post death threats (yes, death threats) and all sorts of idiotic yet uninspired, anti-liberal pabulum. Wow. Not shocking but still disturbing and sickening. You must be so proud of Rupert Murdoch.
You bullied or belittled other countries. You essentially endorsed the use of morally corrupt practices (veil of secrecy, torture) to conduct this so-called war on terror. I mean, c’mon, George. A former National Security Agency analyst had to tell us today that domestic spying has been far worse than first thought, including having targeted journalists. Really, Dubya? I should feel disgusted and a bit flattered.
Additionally, Shrub, you pledged to be a “uniter, not a divider,” yet you and your cohorts continued and even expanded emphasis on turning your regime into an oligarchy. An ideology-driven reign of anti-intelligence, anti-reason and anti-oversight. And right-wing hypocrites have dared to talk of responsibility. No wonder a conservative like Bruce Fein wrote in the Washington Times (not the Post, the freaking Times) urged the Obama administration to investigate you, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Rove and even Ashcroft for “complicity in torture, illegal surveillance, illegal detention, perjury, obstruction of justice and contempt of Congress. Prosecutions should follow if the evidence convinces a grand jury to indict.”
Some of your loyalists dare to defend and desire the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay when much of us in the real world know that closing it would be the moral thing to do. Because I as a Christian believe in the power of repentance, and believe this nation does and should keep aspiring to a genuine, inclusive moral leadership that matches its national traditional values. Heck, the military and FBI reject torture on legal and – to a certain extent – moral and practical reasons. Jack Bauer’s methods in the real world don’t work. They only work on TV.
So, Dubya, I will miss you only because you did so much these past eight years to remind us what a true modern republican democracy really should be with an all-encompassing morality and a sense of a higher purpose. Enjoy your retirement with your blue-blooded friends. Adios and good riddance. We’ve got quite a mess to clean up. (Maybe we can do a “Lost” episode in which we could project how things would be if the Supreme Court had ruled in favor Gore!)
I do salute Obama for having, among other things, signed an executive order that eliminates one of Dubya and Alberto Gonzalez's first collaborations: an executive order that put a veil of secrecy of Bush’s reign. That’s just a start. I sincerely hope Obama will be a progressive president, one who combines idealism with dashes of pragmatism. His ultimate cabinet and other high-level administrative appointments get mixed reviews from me (could be a bit more diverse; hey Clintonites, Hillary is higher up on the line of succession now; Ray LaHood for transportation secretary – really?)
And yes, for anyone wondering how I see it – Blagojevich needs to save what’s left of his credibility and reputation and resign immediately. Dude KNOWS he did wrong and doesn’t believe in culpability. That’s a pathological liar in the making. And for you other dumbass Democrats lately (Spitzer, Edwards, the Portland and Baltimore mayors): BE-FUCKING-HAVE! Do you really aspire to be corrupt or act outragesouly and expect to get away with it? Are there a few neuro pathways loose up there? Way to bring the party down with you. Idiots.
In the end, let’s temper our expectations a bit and be patient with the new administration. We got at least four years to figure things out and set a better example.
