When DUBYA first came to power, I was of the opinion that his stupidity and ignorance were so see through, there would be no way on this planet, or any other in our solar system that he would get a second crack at destroying the American way of life. As his first four years racked up disaster after debacle after scandal, my thinking on his possibilities for "four more years" only solidified. No way could he get back into the White House. It would take an act of god to deflect the bullshit that he had generated in his first four years.
Boy howdy, was I wrong!
I admit it. I was wrong. I gave the American people more credit for brains than was obviously their due. I don't know why that is. Perhaps within this skeptical shell, there was that ever-hopeful optimist hoping against hope that the crusty, jaded grouchy exterior was wrong. Maybe it was that optimist that kept on saying, "Eventually, DUBYA's going to do something from which he cannot escape unscathed."
Then along came Hurricane Katrina. Oh sure, DUBYA already had blood on his hands from the shock and awe of Iraq, the number of civilians killed, and the number of soldiers who had died needlessly. However, that was nothing compared to allowing innocent American civilians to die on American soil while the powers that be did nothing but bicker and argue about who was supposed to give the word to go to New Orleans and "save the day". After that wholesale bit of civilian death and destruction, I figured the whole of America would rise up against the criminal DUBYA and his nest of vipers.
Boy howdy, was I wrong!
For those keeping tabs, that's two times I was wrong. I was wrong in assuming that Americans were smart enough to not elect DUBYA a second time. (Yes, I know, 2004 was a stolen election, or at least we are lead to believe as such. I don't want to enter that debate at the moment. It's not germane to this article.) I was wrong in assuming the sheer negligence of his actions in response to Hurricane Katrina would garner some sort of revulsion to him. I hate being wrong, but I'll admit it when it happens.
It has also been my contention that DUBYA is a village idiot that finally made good. His wholesale ignorance of the finer points of making policy, his bumbling personal style, and his inability to speak without tripping all over his words were more than enough of a hint that he was not possessed of true intellect. Add to that his sitting in a Florida classroom reading "My Pet Goat" as the World Trade Center was under attack not only proved he was stupid, but also that he was a chicken. After seeing that little event, no one in America would ever think he was brave or smart.
Boy howdy, was I wrong!
Now, let's fast forward to today. There is lying in his wake, nothing but shambles. Everything he has put his hands on in the government, he has destroyed. He has worked harder than any president to render moot the constitution. He began with his work on blurring the separation of church and state. This he did even though he considered members of the Religious Reich to be "nuts". Then he committed treason by letting it be known he wanted Valerie Plame exposed. His usage of signing statements is unprecedented, and has, in effect, shown him to be even more treasonous than any other elected official to ever disgrace the office he held.
So when I first heard about the torture bill, I thought there was no way we the people would stand still for such an out and out hoodwinking. Even under the guise of "national security", there is no way that Americans anywhere would stand still and allow cruel and inhuman punishment to become the law of the land. Surely, we had learned from the past. Surely we knew that torture never yields anything but blood, pain, and unreliable information. Surely, we would have learned that rendering Habeas Corpus null and void would be as bad for us who live here in this country as it would for the so-called "enemy combatants" for which it was to be suspended. Surely at least we know that much. Surely someone in the Senate would truly stand up and fight this by filibuster. Surely, at zero hour, someone would come in and tell us that it's all a big mistake, and they really didn't pass such a law into being.
Boy howdy, was I wrong.
So, that makes three times I have been wrong about Americans. I was wrong in assuming we'd want no part of four more years of rule from an idiot. I was wrong in assuming that Americans would see DUBYA as both an idiot and a coward in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Finally, I was wrong in thinking that Americans would not want their country to legalize torture in the name of "national security".
The last of these is the most disheartening. I can forgive forgetting about watching DUBYA sitting dumbfounded as the World Trade Center was attacked. I can forgive forgetting about the lies upon which the Iraq war was built. I can even forgive people for forgetting the incredible American tragedy and travesty that was the FEMA response to Hurricane Katrina. Even in the wake of the recent HBO documentary, When The Levees Broke by Spike Lee reminding us all of the incredible human tragedy that happened on our own soil, I can see how some people would rather not see the waste and death that lies there stinking before them. It's not a pleasant thing to look upon the destruction wrought in New Orleans and realize that our government was complicit in the deaths of over one thousand Americans. It's a bitter pill to swallow, and I can see how some might want to gag on it.
In light of all that, I just can't begin to wrap my brain around how Americans would once again stand still as DUBYA and his den of vipers pulled yet another travesty out of their asses. Polls tell me that more than fifty percent of Americans are disillusioned with the war in Iraq. Those same poll numbers tell me that Americans think they were mislead at the beginning of it all. Other poll numbers tell me that few Americans approve of the job that DUBYA is doing in office. With poll numbers that low, you would think that all of America would be on the lookout for another debacle waiting to happen. With poll numbers indicating a serious distrust of government, you'd think we would stop buying the bill of goods being sold to us by the government.
But you'd be wrong.
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