For Better or For Worse

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By Missy Comley Beattie (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Missy Comley Beattie - Writer

Last May, Laura Bush was certain that people were confident in George. His polls were low at that time, albeit not as low as they are now and, most probably, not as low as they will descend.

"I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country. I see people. I see their responses to my husband. I see their response to me," Laura said. "As I travel around the United States, I see a lot of appreciation for him. A lot of people come up to me and say, 'Stay the course'."

Right now, I'm sure the First Lady is feeling like the First Rag Doll as she navigates the stages of grief after the death of her husband's neo-con agenda. First came shock and awe which, according to Swiss-born psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, is denial. Kubler-Ross identified a cycle of emotions, occurring after catastrophic news is received.

Laura's first emotion may have manifested with: "No, I can't believe this is happening. I must pinch myself to see if this is a nightmare."

This would have been followed by anger: "I should have kicked you to the curb years ago when you did absolutely f**king nothing but chug beer, hug the toilet, and lie on your lazy ass for days."

I'm thinking right about now that she's still in the anger stage but when Laura starts bargaining, she may say, "Okay, there's still time to salvage something. I'll hit the red states. Are there any? Oh, never mind, I'll make them red again. I'll do anything to make them red."

And, then, depression will occur. At this point, Mrs. Bush could curl into the fetal position, sigh, and say, "I give up. It's no use. The party's over. We're doomed."

Eventually, when George W. is impeached and, hopefully, charged with war crimes, Laura will experience these emotions all over again until the final one, acceptance, is, well, acceptable. Actually, she may welcome this one and even attempt to accelerate it.

At this point, Laura wouldn't even be expected to stay the course. We'd understand. She may not believe in the sanctity of marriage, anyway. Whoever came up with "for better or for worse" must have had no concept of how bad it can get.

Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She's written for National Public Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq, she's a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She completed a (more...)

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