Inauguration Day

I went to an event in a nearby town, where we watched the inauguration ceremony and speech, and celebrated with food and music.  As we watched G.W. Bush lift off in the helicopter on his way to Texas, we sang, "Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey, goodbye" and cheered.  I was standing next to my former therapist, and I asked her, "As a mental health professional, do you feel some sympathy for the guy or do you just see him as a war criminal like the rest of us do?"  She looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then said, "To say I feel sympathy would be too personal.  I would say I feel some compassion.  My Buddhist self compels me to feel compassion."  Then she contemplated for a few more seconds, bounced off toward the dance floor, and said, "Aw, f**k it, I hate the guy; I need to go dance now."

Last day for 43

Certainly the years of the 2nd Bush administration will be remembered as the era of preemptive war, of torture, of spying on Americans, of incompetence and/or deliberate abdication of responsibility, of Bush-fiddles-while-Rome-burns head-in-the-sand non-action on global climate change.  I hope history books also brand them as the archetypes of shameful and malignant cowardice.  This mob of fools used fear--and exhibited fear--in response to every threat, real or imagined.  Instead of inspiring the people with courage, with calling forth our better angels, they cowered in undisclosed bunkers, whiled away time in the wastelands of Texas while a city drowned, whined and grew petulant in the face of hardship, and dishonored themselves, our nation, and each and every one of us, both on the world stage and within our own collective psyche.  Bush hopes the history books will portray him as he deserves to be portrayed, and on this one point I agree wholeheartedly with President #43.  

The Best One-Sentence Summary of How We Feel About W:

"He's America's mean ex-husband and the country can't wait to sign the final divorce decree."

from Digby's post "Portrait of a Jackass" at digbysblog.blogspot.com