Now We See What Became Prez in 2000

As Gail Collins said in her New York Times OpEd column yesterday, “The country that elected George Bush — sort of — because he seemed like he’d be more fun to have a beer with than Al Gore or John Kerry is really getting its comeuppance.” There are those who would counter that George W. Bush has changed while he’s been president; that the pressures of the presidency have derailed his mind; that in 2000 he wasn’t the lame and silly buffoon he showed himself to be as he danced a jig waiting for the appearance of John McCain the other day. Gail Collins says the man who joked and babbled at a meeting of New York’s financial mavens this past Friday has not changed one bit since his first term in office. Collins said, “The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still. As he searched for the name of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (“the king, uh, the king of Saudi”) and made guy-fun of one of the questioners (“Who picked Gigot?”), you had to wonder what the international financial community makes of a country whose president could show up to talk economics in the middle of a liquidity crisis and kind of flop around the stage as if he was emcee at the Iowa Republican Pig Roast...This is not the first time Bush’s attempts to calm our fears redoubled our nightmares.” There was his speech after 9/11, and of course, who can forget when no one could make him leave Crawford, TX after Katrina. Collins said the president’s performance at The Economic Club of New York on Friday made her recall “a day long ago when my husband worked for a struggling paper full of worried employees and the publisher walked into the newsroom wearing a gorilla suit”. And now Senator Hothead (an epithet given to John McCain by writer Harry Jaffe) wants to replace President Buffoon. A wonderful "Shouts & Murmurs" article in the March 17th issue of The New Yorker by Paul Slansky shows exactly how much of a hothead (not to say, also buffoon and liar) Senator John McCain really is. When Chelsea Clinton was eighteen, McCain told this joke: “Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.” What did McCain say to Edward Kennedy? (a) “Shut up.” (b) “Fucking jerk.” (c) “Fuck you.” (Shut up.) What did McCain say to John Cornyn? (a) “Shut up.” (b) “Fucking jerk.” (c) “Fuck you.” (Fuck you.) What did McCain say to Charles Grassley? (a) “Shut up.” (b) “Fucking jerk.” (c) “Fuck you.” (Fucking jerk.) Last year, McCain said, “When I voted to support this war, I knew it was probably going to be long and hard and tough, and those that voted for it and thought that somehow it was going to be some kind of an easy task, then I’m sorry they were mistaken.” What did McCain say before the war started? He told Larry King that “success will be fairly easy.” He told Wolf Blitzer, “I believe that we can win an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time.” And he also said, “It’s a safe assumption that Iraqis will be grateful to whoever is responsible for securing their freedom.” The main point for Americans is not whether Hillary or Obama becomes the candidate in the general election next November. The main point is that John McCain must not become our next president. Yes, I would prefer Hillary. I don’t like Obama’s style. But should Barack Obama become the chosen candidate, I will have no problem whatsoever in voting for him in the general election. McCain is a liar, a nasty hothead and a buffoon. We’ve had eight years of that kind of president. Enough is enough.