Is Bush That Stupid?

"I think when people hear the president speak, frankly they think he's really stupid." Arianna Huffington badmash.org

The president's approval rating has hit an all time low of 39%. That shouldn't surprise most of us. Katrina. FEMA. Miers. The War in Iraq. The economy. Gas prices. More cuts of essential services for the poor. Karl Rove and Dick Cheney edging closer to indictments. The Bush Administration is a train wreck.

It's been so long since I've watched Bush on TV (our home is a Bush-Free Zone) that I was stunned by the Huffinton Badmash clip. Not so much by Bush's lame performance--that's one of the reasons I can't watch him speak--but at the 39 per cent of Americans who still support him. What are they thinking?? View the clip yourself and tell me Dan Quale doesn't come to mind.

The irony is that while George Bush may be an equally constipated speaker, he isn't stupid -- he's dumb like a fox. Which makes him a very dangerous man. And though he's always reminded me of Quale, Dubya's not a toothless Veep, he's the Man In Charge. That's the scary part.

Even scarier is the toothlessness of the Democratic Party. Political opportunities abound for Democrats to rise from the ashes and take control. Rove, Cheney, DeLay, Frist -- all in big trouble. Yet the Damn Dems can't seem to rally. With the November elections approaching and the president's party in disarray, you'd think a sea change would sweep the country.

As Bush Senior used to say, "Not gonna happen." And that, my fellow Americans, is really stupid.