Wednesday's Wisdom of Tom Toles

Specter Swipes at the "Decider"

Arlen Specter took a swipe at aWol today. He said on the record that "The Decider" is a shared responsibility, and the idiot prince would do well to remember that. I'll be back with details as I get them...

Go to NPR and click on the hourly newscast to listen:

Republican Senator Arlen Specter said president Bush is not the only person who can decide the future course of U.S. war actions. The PA Republican said he respectfully suggests that "The Decider" is a responsibility he shares with the congress.

Think Arlen might be snarlin' because of that screwin' he took on the torture bill?

Better late than never

I am really late to this party – Martha Plimpton in 200 Cigarettes , late-to-her-own-party - late. But damnit, I have to say to Jim Webb – You should have slugged the aWol sonuvabitch.

Everyone, I am sure, knows by now that Jim Webb wanted to hang one on the chin of Dubya. At a White House reception for the newly elected congress, Webb made an effort to avoid the president, even going so far as to skip the receiving line, but eventually ran out of luck and had to talk to the sonuvabitch.

Bush is a smarmy fucking rich-kid bully, and he uses the tactics of the smarmy rich-kid bully. He shows no class, he just shows his ass. Everyone knows Senator-elect Webb has a son who is a Marine serving in Iraq right now. Bush asked him “How’s your boy?” and Webb responded “Well, I’d sure like to get him out of Iraq.” Bush snapped back “That’s not want I asked you. I asked how your boy is.” And Webb responded “Mr. President, that’s between me and my boy.” (Personally, had I been speaking for Jim Webb, he would have said something like “I wish he was enjoying the nightlife of Argentina instead of Baghdad, but oh well…some are privileged to serve; while some are too privileged to serve, like your Brats of Privilege™, Mr. President.”)

Of course, loyal GOP waterboy George Will edited his own papers reporters and omitted part of the exchange and tried to make Webb look like the asshole who fired first, called him a "boor" who should have observed social graces, and it backfired. A thousand comments were registered to the WaPo website, almost all taking Will to the woodshed. Milhouse got a Wedgie from the readers, that’s for damned sure.

Anyway, Jim, if you ever do clock the sonuvabitch, I’m good for a hundred bucks bail money.

'Tis a fine line between 'determined' and 'pathological'

Mr. President, what part of "You have been bitch slapped" do you not understand? Jesus Christ on a cracker, aWol is one stubborn sonuvabitch. Did anyone catch this little Gem? (I know, I should have gotten to this days ago. What can I say? "Finals" should be all I have to say, actually).

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — President Bush, under pressure to change direction in Iraq, said Tuesday he will not be persuaded by any calls to withdraw American troops before the country is stabilized.

“There’s one thing I’m not going to do, I’m not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete,” he said in a speech setting the stage for high-stakes meetings with the Iraqi prime minister later this week. “We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren.”

That would be his children who are such charming company that they got kicked out of Argentina and one of them is such a stunningly gifted individual, she got her purse and cell phone ripped off even though she had Secret Service protection.

Listen up, bitch - my kids are not dying for your brats of priveledge. Got that?

And start dealing with reality, because it's about to deal with you, Mr. President.

More Baker Commission Leaks

Does it seem to anyone else like Washington has more leaks than the SS Minnow these days? I could have sworn that the president was cracking down on leaks, but apparently he is as impotent as he is incompetent, and that's an accomplishment.

The Baker Commission report is "due on the President's desk" on Wednesday of next week, but everyone with an AM radio has heard parts of the report that have been leaked, including the imminent (within 18 months) pull-out of troops from Iraq.

"It's really about transitioning from a combat to a support role, and basically making very clear that this is no longer an open-ended commitment, and we're going to get this done whether the Iraqis like it or not," one of the sources told the Post. "Everybody understands that we're at the end of the road here."

The question I have is this - why is Baker's commission report leaking like a seive? I'm starting to revise my thinking on this issue (liberals often do that). Here is what I think: I think it's on purpose. I think it is happening with Baker's blessing. He has known young George all his life, probably at some point placed a hand on Babs' belly (sorry for the visual). I believe that Jim Baker is secretly mortified that the little prick is president. I believe he knows enough about aWol's pathologies - and there are many - that he knows how George is going to (want to) react to the recommendations, and he is setting him up for a sacrifice-the-son moment if it comes to that.

George is going to want to lash out (prepare to duck-and-cover, Iran) when he reads that report. He is going to read how bad he screwed up, and he is going to flip right the fuck out. He is not going to take it well. He is going to lose it. I caught the middle-of-the-night press conference with Maliki a couple of nights ago when it was on live. He was shrill and petulant and moreso than usual. He knows that while normally, everyone serves at the pleasure of the president; and the president serves at the pleasure of the people, he is a different color horse. He and his staff all serve at the pleasure of a group of powerful men who are his father's minions, not his own. He is aware of this, accutely. I think he feels the noose tightening. These men are not amused by the antics of the child-king, and he knows it.

These leaks are out there so aWol can't react the way Jim Baker knows he will try to. These leaks are happening not because Jim Baker feels we have a right to know a god-damned thing (he doesn't) but because they are the only way to bring this beast of an administration to heel. The only way he can be stopped is by the people and the new congress. This is certainly not setting well with Jim Baker, who is not a modest individual; but he is at least as shrewd as he is arrogant. the citizenry is a useful tool at some times and an obstacle at others. Right now, he finds us useful.

Fine. I'll gladly fill that role by demanding accountability and making my voice heard about this. Of course, I will be demanding accountability and making my voice heard in the future, too, when these same people who now find me useful will find me once more an obstacle. Two edged sword, ain't it?

Better late than never

George “aWol” Bush is en route to Viet Nam as I write this.

He is only 35-40 years late.