George Bush is going to have a speech at Ft. Bragg tomorrow, and I think we will look upon this speech as being the beginning of the end. Bush is hoping that the photo op of him surrounded by troops, looking patriotic as he can be, will boost his poll numbers. It won't. His little American flag will be shiny, and the cheers will be timed and thunderous. And the American people won't buy it. And I'm not talking just about blue state folks like myself. I'm also talking about folks in the red states.
One of the biggest mistakes the Republicans made was failing to realize that the big lie always comes back to haunt you, mainly because it can't be maintained. So as the poll numbers plummet, and Team Bush/Rove try to come up with a strategy to get them back to half way decent, they have to revert back to fearing the American people into submission (via 9/11 memories), dividing those who are true American (according to Rove: Republicans and conservatives) and those who would harbor the enemy (again, according to Rove: Democrats and liberals).
But it's not going to work this time. American service men and women without limbs are now moving back into society. And despite the media fixation on those military amputees who still feel patriotic about America (that helps the guilt the rest of us have for sending them into a war based on false pretenses. It's the same way the media always ask an elderly black person who has been horrendously wronged about whether they are still "bitter", hoping they say no.) there are thousands of American military who are crippled both physically and mentally and who aren't so cheery. And they will begin to affect policy, because flag waving isn't going to be enough.
So as you watch the President, and I will, make sure you understand that this is all political farce. Men and women are still dying, and we'll all look back at this as the moment when Bush's lies fell flat. It is the beginning of the end.
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Funny thing, even the soldiers weren't going for all the rhetoric. The audience only clapped once during the whole BS speech. One reporter said it was eerily quiet during the whole program. That's because they know the truth about what's going on over there and that they, and no one Bush knows, will be shipped over to lose either life or limb.
The nation has changed. Bush is trying to stall for time, but even his fellow Republicans aren't on board. You can only try to tell the big lie so many times. After a while, it starts sounding like Alice in Wonderland.
The military isn't stupid. They will do their duty, if you ask them to do it enthusiastically, you need to have a concrete plan. The Bush administration has no plan, and now they are exposed.
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