That’s the question Eugene Robinson asks in today’s column.
Eugene Robinson – How Low Will Bush Go? – washingtonpost.com:
“If Democrats manage to take control of one or both houses of Congress on Tuesday, the reason will be that voters were not adequately roused into a state of heart-pounding, knee-knocking, teeth-chattering fear.Not that Republicans haven’t been trying. George W. Bush used to claim he was ‘a uniter, not a divider,’ but that was a long time ago. These days, he’d probably try to deny the quote the same way he tried to disown ‘stay the course.’ The Karl Rove formula for political victory has been to draw a bright line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ and then paint those on the other side not as opponents but as monsters.”
Over the years observing this administration I have noticed that most of the taglines and titles they apply to themselves can only be understood fully if you take them as the polar opposite of what they mean. I first really noticed when George W was running in 2000 and he kept claiming to have passed the Texas Patience Bill of Rights. You know, I live in Texas and that’s not the way I remember it happening. I kept waiting for the press to call him on it, but if any of them did I never saw it. Over the years since then, George just keeps on doing it. The war in Iraq is going great, “Mission Accomplished”. “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”. Clear Skies, bankruptcy reform, prescription drug plan and on and on and on. He keeps talking about Social Security reform, pardon me, but I don’t think I am going to trust anyone with reforming SS who will never need to worry about what happens to the plan. I don’t just have a problem with the President here (though his track record of accomplishments does set one back), I have the same problem with Congress. How can you trust someone to fix a plan when they opted out years ago?
Call me naive, but I never thought a president of the United States would stoop so low as to accuse current and prospective members of Congress — a number of whom, by the way, are decorated war veterans, unlike Bush or anyone in his inner circle — of being pro-terrorist.
I am sorry to say Mr. Robinson, but this President has already proven he can go pretty low…
On another note we have the gas prices starting to bounce one week before the elections…
Decline of Houston gas prices ends today | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle:
“The three-month uninterrupted fall of retail gas prices statewide ended in some markets this week, according to the weekly AAA Texas gasoline price survey released today.The survey found the average retail price of regular, self-serve gasoline in Texas increased by 1 cent to $2.09 per gallon. The national average for regular, self-serve rose fractionally to $2.20 per gallon.
The state’s biggest increase was in Fort Worth, where the average price increased 2 cents per gallon to $2.06.
‘Nationwide, prices have also started rising in many areas,’ said auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau. ‘Oil industry analysts are saying that could be the result of OPEC’s announcement last month that it is reducing crude oil production.'”
I made the prediction back when the prices started falling that they would be going up after the elections. Now it looks like they got an early start. You know I even heard a Republican on the NewsHour try and take credit (via Bush’s Policies) for the drop in prices. Does he want credit as they start back up?
