Thursday, April 19, 2007

The Gonzales Mess

The crib sheet version of what is going on here is relatively simple - plain and simple incompetence. The fact is that the appointment of US Attorneys is an inherently political process and legally the dismissal of the US Attorneys on 12/7/06 is not problematic. What is abundantly clear however is that Alberto Gonzales is a bumbler and horribly ill-suited to fulfill the highest law enforcement post in the United States. Not only are his explanations of his involvement/non-involvement lamentable his smarmy smugness is intolerable. Hubris is the most abundant trait within this Administration. I watched more than 80 percent of today's hearings and I almost feel bad for the guy. Anyone with any self-respect would have resigned weeks ago.

The Democrats could almost be accused of bullying an obviously over-matched minion were it not for the Republicans joining in. Gonzales performance was atrocious and most Administrations would be shrinking in their collective chairs, horrified and ashamed at Gonzales abysmal performance. How can Josh Bolton allow this to continue, can't he get the President to see the obvious. Like it or not Alberto Gonzales is emblematic of what is wrong about the Bush Presidency. I find it sad really that it has taken so long for the American people to come to grips with the fact that the Emperor has no clothes.

Bill Clinton engaged in shameful personal behavior as President, but no one can reasonably argue that he was an incompetent politician. The same can't be said regarding the current President. His inability to accept reality has diminished the Presidency in this country, seriously hurt his political party and damaged the country's international reputation in a way that will take decades to repair. I honestly feel sorry for the President, I believe he believes in what he is doing, but his inability to see things for what they are is pitiful.

YOU SMELL THAT? DO YOU SMELL THAT?

No, it's not napalm in the morning it's "Hapless Al" Stew. If there was doubt as to whether whether Mr. Gonzales will survive this mess, such doubts should now be dispelled.

The morning session is nearly complete, but despite AG Gonzales' bluster and vigorous preparation (according to carefully placed items over the last two weeks) his chances of surviving this mess are slim and nil and folks Slim just left town. In spite of some softballs tossed by friendly Republican senators, he's still appears to be overmatched. His position is so pitiful that even Republican senators Graham and Sessions are rolling their eyes in apparent disbelief over the feebleness of his answers. Moreover, there is no dispute whatsoever that this guy is a terrible manager and one without any credibility with the Senate. Thank god for a country where a chucklehead like this could rise to the office of US Attorney General.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

If Politicians are Going to Dye Their Hair - Why Don't They At Least Get It Done Well

I am deeply troubled by the trend of politicians, in particular presidential candidates, to comically dye their hair. Moreover, the Ronald McDonald character of these dye-job-in-a-box efforts is being extended to eyebrows. This disturbing trend is an obvious sign of the coming apocalypse. Tommy Thompson's appearance this morning on This Week with George Stephanoplus was the latest incidence of metrosexual efforts gone awry. During my youth, I recall chuckling at the feeble efforts of faded starlets to appear younger. The vainglorious efforts were quietly accepted as signs of senility.

No such acceptance should be afforded to egomaniacal men seeking the uber-prize, the presidency. I'm not troubled by the want to appear younger (or maybe just less old), but if you make the decision to dye your hair, see fit to place the job in the hands of a talented professional and not aisle 3 at Walmart. Tommy Thompson's hair color did not even remotely appear to otherwise exist in nature.

While I'm on this important topic, I should note another male hair trend I find troubling. The trend appears to be driven by the universal condemnation of the comb-over. Balding men have taken to either growing their remaining hair to ridiculous lengths or thickness. The most recognizable example of the later is Karl Rove. Despite having mere wisps of hair across his dome and rather cropped hair on the sides, the back of his head has a ridiculously abundant tuft of hair. I suspect the genesis of Hair Emergency is twofold. Firstly, as I mentioned above, the loss of the comb-over as an acceptable hair style choice has left the hair challenged befuddled and without good options. Secondly, I suspect that self-styling is the primary causation.

It is well documented that balding men bristle at the fact that their haircuts cost as much as haircuts for the folliclely unchallenged. While to the best of my knowledge, no genetic link between male pattern baldness and being cheap has yet been established, the anecdotal evidence is unassailable. The end result is that in bathrooms throughout the Beltway terrible, terrible thing are happening . The only chance we have of stopping this is to expose the problem in the same way the uni-brow and the comb-over were. Please help.