Libby, Cheney and the Great Decider…
03-09-07

Over the past few days, the news has been full of the Libby trial, the VA hospital debacle, and the push to fund the President's surge with another record appropriations bill. What these three things have in common is that they all revolve around a supposed leader, who has said on numerous times that he is "the decider," and the one who takes "full responsibility" for mistakes that are made within his administration.

But most disturbing about all of the recent news, is that instead of taking responsibility, or even offering statements regarding an admission of mistakes that were made, the White House (meaning the last two "leaders" holed up in room shielded from reality- Dick and George) have instead had Tony Snow deflecting comment, and taking a form of "the Fifth" by way of passing the buck to other departments in the same government that they supposedly lead.

Taking each issue separately brings us back to the same conclusions and the same sources.

In the Libby case, we have someone convicted of lying to cover up a plan that was instituted by the Vice President. It is almost impossible for me to conceive that The President had no knowledge of the actions being taken. To assume that he was out of the loop, is to assume that he is in the same position as Ronald Reagan supposedly was during Iran-Contra, when supposedly, those below him were doing countless illegal acts involving breeches of national security, without his knowledge. It is too soon for George to begin using the "I don't recall defense," and slip into a state of convenient senility. Cheney was at the root of this mess, as was Rove…and if the two puppeteers knew what was going on, then George would certainly have at least felt the movement through his backside as they manipulated the press and the American public into a "predetermined, preemptive defense invasion ".

The VA debacle is nothing short of the exact Bush Administration ambiguous, double-speak that has marked the past 5 years of his administration. "Support Our Troops" is the weapon these guys use on their bully pulpit when admonishing those in Congress to pass funding and support our latest Crusade into the Holy Land. But at the same time, this administration has cut VA funding and Veteran benefits several times, forgetting that in this case, "supporting those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom" has to continue on AFTER they have returned from the line of fire. Again, the same "decider" is at the helm, and again, the same "indignant shock" is conveyed when abuses to our own vets is revealed.

Finally, the obvious ambiguity of our continued, ever-growing defense spending is so completely out of control, out of reason, and without precedent, that it is actually the biggest and yet underreported story today. By once again asking congress (read that the representative branch of the American public) to support and grant another $75 Billion dollars…on top of the half TRILLION that has already been allocated, the President is inferring that we are simply too stupid, lazy or brainwashed by his rhetoric, to question the expense. Forget the fact that almost daily, there are reports of unimaginable waste being reported that results in nothing short of graft and fraud by the very companies that this administration is tied to through family and investments.

But all of this comes when congress is cutting budget items across the country for countless state and county support in rural areas, including public safety, education and welfare. In short, what "the Decider" is saying, is that because we are "fighting those who would wish to do us harm in a foreign land," we must make sacrifices, including ignoring the needs of our own citizens, in our own country. This man's obsession with trying to save face in what is certainly the largest military/political blunder in our nation's history, is costing us lives, destroying families, and tearing apart the infrastructure of our own society.

The most disconcerting reality, is that we still have almost two years of this kind of thoughtless, short-sited, contemptuous "leadership" to look forward to. We can't wait for another election. It is time to start calling "the decider" and his henchmen on the carpet, and start using common sense. It is obvious that there is no real loyalty in this administration. If you get caught doing the business of your leaders, you had better be prepared to pay the price.

Unfortunately, we are all paying the same price…but this is what happens when you let common sense fly out the window, and hand the reins to the wagon to someone who not only does not know where to go, but how to stop the wagon when we are reaching a cliff.

The destruction that this administration has done will be felt for decades. He will accept no blame. Cheney will simply vanish into the same "netherworld" where Rummy has "retired" (back to the world of corporate favors and international arms trading), and George will take his caustic smirk, retire to his ranch in Crawford, to plan his Presidential Library, and do his best to rewrite his own history.

God save us all…