Informant38

The Autumn of Little Caesar
Meanwhile, Top Gun is beginning to look more like a scared rabbit. My original hunch was that the Bush White House always intended to get out of Iraq quickly, at least start withdrawing well before the campaign season (that may still be Karl Rove's plan). But reality has greatly besmirched Little Caesar's triumph. So his TV address drew a new line in the quicksand. Iraq is proclaimed the "central front" in the war of terrorism -- are you with the commander or against him? Pushing the new Patriot Act so Field Marshal Ashcroft can issue his own secret warrants is part of the same political strategy. Dems who vote "no" will be depicted as Osama's fellow travelers.
Next year is going to be very ugly -- a polarizing campaign that digs at America's wounds and fears, that points an accusing finger at whoever runs against Bush. Republicans are expert at this kind of politics -- the Red Scare, the Willie Horton thing -- and they might succeed if the facts don't overwhelm their lies. That is why I am cheering on the debaters.
�William Greider 9/13/2003