Fit For The Finger

Of these three items related to George W. Bush, I think this isn't the worst of the bunch (have to scroll down to the 7/28 entry).

Or this (again, have to scroll down to 7/28...I'm a little late on this one, I know, and I also know this has a duplicate photo from the Wonkette link).

No, I thought the worst item came from this link.

I realize a lot of people are going to care about the health of the President of the United States regardless of what political party he (or she, someday) belongs to. And it's a good thing that the President is in good physical health. However, it would be nice if this person were in good mental and emotional health also, though in the case of Dubya, I've long since given up on that possibility.

But for me, the line near the end really does it. It's nice that he met with the wounded and their families, and to say they are "incredibly courageous souls" is an understatement.

My question is this: What did you say to them? And what did they say to you?

Did they communicate to you any particular stories of sacrifice or hardship that impressed you in a particular way? Did you express your gratitude on behalf of yourself and the nation for what they have done or attempted to do? Did you explain to them how important their sacrifice was on behalf of your naive goal to bring something resembling democracy to an area of the world that has known nothing but regional, tribal and religious strife for centuries and apparently has no clue about how to rule itself? Did you outline something approximating a timeline for "success" in this war of yours as well as a list of goals to be accomplished before you can legitimately claim that it has all been worth it? Did you even consider the possibility of releasing a photo or video/sound clip of you meeting with the wounded and trying to get to know them?

No, you didn't, did you? And you know why? I can think of at least two reasons.

One, Karen Hughes was busy and couldn't get copy to you on time, or tell you what to do or give you any guidance as a PR flak.

Two, because you are a truly empty vessel of a person. You lack the empathy, understanding, imagination, and curiosity that God gave to a gnat. Clinton shone in moments such as this, but I realize that comparing you to a legitimate head of state is totally ridiculous.

Because this war of yours is nothing but an effort to expand the corporate empire of you and your peers, and the body count and measure of catastrophe on the part of those innocent victims of your new crusade is totally irrelevant to you.

You preposterously sell Iraq War II to us by using legitimate slogans and policies that were used by prior administrations for other conflicts that, admittedly, were fought for questionable reasons also (excluding World War II, of course). This plays well for your brainless minions, but more and more people are FINALLY waking up to the reality, as witnessed by your declining popularity numbers in all of the recent polls.

As I consider all of this, I have only this to say. The next time I hear, read or actually see you "flipping off" someone in the way shown from the first two links, I will have this response:

Same to you, Mr. President.

Update 8/1: I think Dubya just flipped us off again, symbolically though. As revolting a development as this is, it really isn't a surprise after all.

Update 8/4: Here's more...