Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Comic Book Heroes
After my gloomy post of this morning about 100-1 odds against Kerry ever taking office, I have to thank Tom Engelhardt for making me feel better tonight.
After my gloomy post of this morning about 100-1 odds against Kerry ever taking office, I have to thank Tom Engelhardt for making me feel better tonight.
Can there be any question that the Bush men would consider almost any scenario that might advance their candidate's second-term fortunes? I think not. But their incompetence shouldn't be overlooked either; nor should we focus too exclusively on such scenarios ourselves. In that focus lies a lurking fatalism which has its own dangers. It leads to an overestimation of the Machiavellian abilities of the somewhat inept Busheviks, treating them as if they were a comic-book cohort of X-men, superhuman in their ability to grab fate decisively by the throat, reorganize reality to suit their needs, and manipulate the American public. In fact, if you think about it a moment, the Bush administration has proven far less competent since it tossed the Iraqi dice than either its top officials or most of its opponents ever conceived possible. And there's a surprise for you!I can't forget, however, that George W. Bush remains the luckiest man ever to occupy the presidency, and it's often better to be lucky than good. Neither can I ignore Kerry's serious problem--you mark my words, his attempt to have it both ways on Iraq is going to be his most serious political liability between now and election day. Nevertheless, I do feel a little better now, thanks.
