Friday, December 08, 2006

Oedipus Wrecks

The Baker/Hamilton Iraq Study Group report was only slightly less anticipated than the Starr report about Bill Clinton's sexual peccadilloes. Anticipated by all except the President, that is. This was Chucklehead's worst nightmare come true. Yet again, he has proven to be so completely inept at his life's undertakings that his father's old wizened aides have had to leap into the breach to save Georgie's sorry ass from himself. Only this time, he is sixty years old and at the end of his career road. I am certain that the thing George Bush detests most in life is to be lectured by his father and he has said as much in the past. They don't even talk shop, and his father won his war. This life-long characteristic of the prodigal son, Dubya, attempting to better his more accomplished Dad has become pathological to the most casual observer of psychology. What a tragedy, though, that this Oedipal drama must be played out on the international stage while stability in the world and our soldiers' lives are at stake.

Bush, Sr. went to Yale and played baseball, Dubya was a cheerleader who later owned the whole damn team; Sr. was a war hero, Junior supported the Vietnam War by wearing his Texas National Guard flight jacket on the campuses of those hotbeds of protest, Yale and Harvard; Sr. did well in the oil business, Junior had to be a wildcatter too and have his failed Arbusto Oil company purchased by Harkin Oil, his father's old associates; Sr. was elected, Junior was re-elected. This was because Junior had something not even Senior could abide; Karl Rove. Bush 41 fired Rove for dirty tricks before Rove discovered Junior's magical charisma and decided to make him president. No one knew Rove would upset Poppy's applecart again.

But the most telling and bizarre father-son episode I have seen was earlier this week, when Bush 41 broke down in wracking sobs while delivering a speech at an outgoing ceremony for Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Recalling Jeb's loss to Lawton Chiles in 1994 and vaguely referring to dirty tricks, Bush was overcome with tears and emotion at how honorably Jeb had handled defeat without complaining. Last week, Bush had to defend his son, Dubya, merely as an "honest man" to the foreign press. His emotional display in Florida causes me to believe that he wasn't as distraught over Jeb losing the governorship in '94, as he was that it upset the Bush legacy pecking order and the wrong son went and got himself elected president. And now Poppy has to cover that bounced check. "But Esau was an hairy man." I'd cry, too.

Dubya had himself quite a week, choosing to leave the country, Nixon style, rather than face the withering criticism of his failed Iraq policy. From Latvia to Indonesia and Vietnam, where he posed under a giant relief of Ho Chi Minh in a snappy native costume, he looked particularly ill at ease for someone who likes to play dress-up so much. He has dressed as a cowboy, a construction worker, a jock fighter pilot, and the President. Why should dressing in a silk, yellow gown with blue stars on it disturb him? A fashion reporter asked Bush, "Who are you wearing?" and he said, "Ringling Brothers." All he lacked was a big, round, red nose and a couple of bicycle horns to look like Clarabelle. He has become the Global Village Idiot and reflects that perception upon this country wherever he goes.

Then it was on to Jordan for dinner for two with King Abdullah at a table with three place settings. Can you imagine Lambchop refusing to talk to Shari Lewis? Or Jerry Mahoney not speaking to Paul Winchell? Such was the snub of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to Bush after the inner White House Steven Hadley memo calling Maliki a moron was intentionally leaked to the press. Bush had to settle for breakfast with Nuri, instead, because Maliki's strings are not merely pulled by Bush, but Moktada al-Sadr as well. Those Iraqis are just so ungrateful. I wonder if anyone mentioned "light at the end of the tunnel?."

Now the Baker-Hamilton report has repudiated the Bush plan in Iraq and calls for a troop drawdown by 2008. People everywhere hoped this study could serve as political cover for Bush to finally agree to changes in his imperial plans. So how does he react to the tough questioning of the British press about the report? He gets mad. He has the surliness of an drunk who hasn't yet treated the underlying causes of his alcoholism. Bush's performance since the release of the Iraq Study Group report has been that of a a petulant pissant. He is now cornered, and that is when he is most dangerous. His usual response is to lash out at his detractors, regardless of the damage it causes, and if that includes Uncle Jimmy Baker and the last, best hope for a graceful exit from Iraq, then so be it. Bush already plans to dump this mess into the lap of his successor if America survives him. And if you are counting on Bush to express appreciation to his father for throwing him a lifeline that could salvage his presidency, just remember, Bush "answers to a higher father." Dubya's "voices" told him to stay in Iraq until "victory is achieved." How will we know when that transpires, or if he is recommitting troops to their third and fourth tours in Iraq just to piss off Daddy?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I couldn't have said it better myself.
Pappa is crushed that his idiot son has ruined the dynasty plans. Jeb is no longer a viable candidate for President or for any elected position.
The Bushes are finished.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
D N TN

Anonymous said...

Carly Simon said it best "nobody does it better" Way to go Randy, I think this is the best you have written. Maybe people will take notice and listen to the real word.Thanks for making things so clear for all of us. Was that a thumb I saw in his mouth last night on the news?Poor foolish baby!!Chop!

Anonymous said...

Use overwhelming force or come home and lick our wounds. A sad commentary now at the anniversary of Pearl harbor. The towel heads knew we didn't have the stomach to totally crush them. The study group? A joke because it's a consensus that tries to please everyone and thus no one. I just hope the intelligentsia don't convince us to leave our borders unprotected. And by the way I wouldn't dwell on the comment about a drunk and the underlying causes of his addiction. Remember I knew you guys when you did drugs by the handful and some even got their jollies by mistreating an old street person.

Anonymous said...

The world of politics is a hopeless, bottomless pit...regardless of who is running the comedy of errors. I still say the only sane option is to turn our back on the whole thing and return to the counterculture. At one time there were a lot of us who understood this. What happened? Apparently many of us have been deceived and misled into participating in the circus of hypocrisy, compromise, and ego-power-freaking dishonesty that is the world of politics. I think that one of the fundamental present-day problems is that there is no longer a real, viable counterculture. Everyone is a part of the sick, irredemable mainstream show...regardless of whether they call themselves Democrats or Republicans. The problem is that the 'show' itself is completely bogus. We need a new show...trying to change the current one through political means is a waste of time and energy. Today's culture, political or otherwise, is more revolting than pre-60's America. We have devolved into a barbaric, violent hip-hop nation devoid of true art and high ideals. And, politics won't get us out of it. A cultural revolution (a new paradigm) might.

Anonymous said...

"We have devolved into a barbaric, violent hip-hop nation devoid of true art and high ideals. And, politics won't get us out of it. A cultural revolution (a new paradigm) might."
I agree with you there brother. Politics won't get us out of it but neither will a counter culture. Man is deceitful in his heart and that is where the change has to occur.

Anonymous said...

I agree 100%...a counterculture produced by a tribe of people whose hearts have been transformed.Anything less would be guilding the lily. I wasn't talking about a return to the old hippie culture...it was a failed experiment. But that doesn't mean that we give up and allow ouselves to be absorbed into the current bogus culture.You have to begin by turning your back on what is currently happening and turn on to a more valid spiritual paradigm. My bias is a return to original, primitive Christianity.It was meant to be a radical counterculture...not the impotent clone of modern culture that it has become. If lived out as it was meant to be, I think that it would approximate something of the original hippie vision, only it would be sustainable and would work, because it would be grounded in the Self-sustaining Truth and not man's ideas. Now, I await the inevitable stoning...

Anonymous said...

The mainstream culture is incorrigible. At least a coherent counterculture would be an interesting alternative to the prevailing crap that passes for contemporary culture. The hippies at least provided an interesting alternative to the prevailing society. The point is not to change the current culture...screw it, it is beyond redemption. The point is to ignore the current culture and go about creating the micro-culture that you want. The first thing is to stand against the rising tide of conformity that is consuming us like it did prior to the mid-60's. Everybody is letting others set the standards for them. There is very little creativity or original thinking. Let there be a predominantly right-brained microcosm where all of the misfits can be out of step together. Maybe when enough people can no longer keep from puking over the current state of affairs a critical mass will be reached and a new wave will be birthed. I've already started. I'm not waiting. Everyone should step out and be the leader of a cult of one. If enough people do this maybe things will get interesting. again.

Anonymous said...

Sounds good. Why not start in Memphis and why not start now? Maybe Memphis could be the epicenter of a new movement. Perhaps it could be the new Haight-Asbury with a different spin. We could start with a new underground newspaper as a catalyst for mobilization. Perhaps Randy could be the editor and this blog could be an additional community communications center. It's already got a great name, "Born Again Hippies". The Phoenix could rise from the ashes.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of starting something new, how about beginning with music? Check out FolkAlley.com. It is a free, internet contemporary (mostly) folk music station. It's a refreshing change from what is currently available (hip-hop, oldies). It is lyrically intelligent, acoustic music. A real breath of fresh air musically speaking.

Anonymous said...

You got it right about the music. If I had to choose between listening to a protracted buffalo fart or hip-hop, I'd choose the buffalo fart without hesitation. For one thing it would be more musical.

Anonymous said...

New evidence of our cultural decline:
Barbara Walters recently stated that if Rosy O'Donnell (the unfunny, repugnant gay water buffalo) were not already on her show 'The View', she would have chose her as one of 'The Ten Most Fascinating People'(Walters upcoming documentary). That has to be a sign of the coming apocalypse. Rosie is about as fascinating as a defecating yak.

Anonymous said...

Cultural decline is just the beginning of America's problems. We are about to find out the practical outworking of the scriptural principle in the biblical verse that says,'Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it'. It is doubtful that the Lord was behind the way that our forefathers treated the helpless (Native Americans, blacks, et al.), and in the pattern of conquest and oppression of others in the name of colonialism. The karma of a lot of unjustice and unrighteousness has been building for a couple of hundred years and is about to come crashing down on us. You can see a global tsunami rising up all around us. What the Lord doesn't build (through us) will ultimately come crashing down. The irony is that America has countless professing Christians who seem to have lost touch with the poor and down-trodden that their Lord ministered to all of His life and commanded His followers to serve in a spirit of humility, love, and self-sacrifice. In light of this, how did we treat the Native Americans, the blacks, the browns, and others of the disenfranchised 'earth peoples'. Much of what we have is ill-gotten gain and is destined to be removed from us. Cosmic justice will balance things out in the end.

Anonymous said...

A defecating yak? How about a retching jackal?

Anonymous said...

Speaking of national karma...read 'A People's History of the United States' by Howard Zinn. If there is such thing as national karma...we'd best be heading for cover. This is a history without the sugar coating that is applied by the victors. It tells of all the people who were sacrificed in the name of 'progress' and it is bone-chilling. We do have blood on our hands. And remember as you read that God is no respecter of persons. He loves the victims as much as he loves everyone else.

Anonymous said...

In light of current events, namely the squabble over the partying of the beauty pageant girls...can any of you folks who grew up in the 60's and 70's imagine all of the indignity that is going on over this happening back then? It wouldn't even have been newsworthy. How did we get so prudish? You would think that it was the 1950's all over again.

Anonymous said...

Oh boy let's heap on some more white guilt. Blood on our hands? Sure but so do all the other races. It just kills me how feminized the culture has become. We will not even fully prosecute a war anymore especially if the enemy's skin tone is a shade darker. As far as Rosie, she is just a pissed off unhappy lesbian. And she wants to make everybody else unhappy until we validate her miserable existance. Sheee heeee