Though you wouldn’t know it from the CNN broadcast soundtrack, George W Bush was soundly booed by a large portion of the 240,000 Washington crowd when he appeared at the Obama coronation on Tuesday (wasn’t Aretha magnificent, but where did they find that poetess and that rambly old biblebashing bloke?) Never mind, though. W. received a staggering vote of confidence in a Rasmussen poll today, where 13% (thirteen percent) of his Texan home boys rank him among the top 5 US Presidents. President Obama should take note and avoid doing any of the things which got the US and Bush into this sort of reputational predicament. He could start with soundly denouncing the neocons, instead of taking them to dinner, as he did with McCain, with a guest list that included horror bags such as Bill Kristol and Cheney (who looked great in a whhelchair – can somebody make that permanent?) A large part of America’s current woes stem from the rancid nonsense which belched forth from a few stupid but well-connected Think Tanks and a couple of very well-heeled lobby groups. The new President has already taken steps to curb the lobbyists, but he might kill two birds with one stone by freeing Guantanamo’s prisoners but replacing them them with AIPAC, Brookings, Hudson Institute and the other unelected Beltway Houyhnhnms who led his idiot predecessor away from the golf course and into the Supreme Command Headquarters. Since they approved of Guantanamo and its methods, they’ll enjoy the pleasures of waterboarding, listening to 24 hour soft rock at top volume and the unwelcome attentions of its hostesses. I could give you some overseas candidates and members of the Press corps, but can’t be bothered right now.
13% isn’t hard to beat, but I’m sure Barack knows that already. Just stay out of the wars and don’t listen to a word from the people who got America into its current state. Go green and invest in alternatives. Go easy on the poets and the preachers. All we are saying, is give peace a chance. Sounds simple. It is.
John J Kelly
