Even though every day is a battle -- my enemies are always attacking me -- I think we'll make it to the January 2009 finishing line. Once the Dems announced that impeachment was "off the table," I knew everything would be OK.
Without that club to hold over our heads, all those wimpy Dems can do for the next year and a half is kick and scream -- political tantrums that we just ride out.
Those weak-kneed Democrats are so predictable. They hold a one-day congressional hearing and invite a few witnesses to make their case or command that our folks appear so they can get a tongue-lashing and maybe make a mistake that will invite perjury charges. We make those witnesses know how important loyalty is, rehearse them with the narrative we want, or we keep them from appearing at all.
Our big guns -- Condi, Rummy, Alberto and so on -- are skilled at how to bob and weave their way through a congressional grilling. End result: the Dems get next to nothing, move on to their next issue, and it's tantrum time again. Fuck 'em!
When the Dems cite one of our people for contempt of Congress, the clash of Executive and Legislative powers will become a "Constitutional Crisis" and wend its way into the courts. That means more delays, which is fine with us; but Dick and Karl think we'll do OK in the courts anyway.
We didn't spend six years packing the appeals courts for nothing and, as a final back-up, we've always got our 5-4 majority on the Supreme Court. Can't believe they let Alito and Roberts glide right in. Now we're locked and loaded.
VULNERABLE ON THE IRAQ WAR
Iraq is the only real danger issue now. We don't mind a little chaos over there -- which makes America the one force of possible stability -- but Christ, it's a fucking civil war, and even our Green Zone in Baghdad is being mortared and rocketed daily! Even so, Dick and Karl are positive we can slip-slide our way through to September when Gen. Petraeus will deliver his major findings.
Petraeus knows who brung him to the dance. We can count on him to deliver another "we're-making-progress" report card and ask for another six-months to reach the "positive tipping point" in Iraq. Despite a few Republican defectors in the Senate, the rest of our GOP allies are holding tight enough to keep the Dems from ramming through their surrender bills and defeatist amendments.
Then next year we just repeat the "six-months-more" spin-cycle and we'll have made our way through the November 2008 elections.
I'm The Cogitator; I can see what'll happen in the election campaign:
* The mood of the country is decidedly against the war, but the Democrats can be counted on to make big mistakes, starting with who they nominate (come on, Hillary!); then the swiftboating can begin.
* The Dems, in their desire to look strong on national-security, will back away from really taking us on with regard to both Iraq and the "war on terrorism"; they can smell the "unpatriotic" odor that we'll spray on them;
* The Dems will use the health-care buzzwords but will stay away from a universal, single-payer plan;
* The Democrats will cooperate in maintaining pretty much the same vote-counting system as before, which will help our well-placed friends, how shall we say?, ensure that we do much better on Election Day than the last-minute polls indicate.
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org).
