And Then the Monkey Smokes a Cigarette and Bats Away the Flies:
Maybe one way to look at Bush's performance last night is this: it was a brilliant example of postmodernism in action. Look at the method: A merging of low and high culture, a pastiche of dissolute phrases that added up to incomprehensibility but sounded like they had content, and a nod to hip-hop in the way that Bush brilliantly sampled himself over and over in his rhymez ("oceans won't protect us," "America is more secure," and on and on). God, it was like watching some clip show of hilarious moments.

What the fuck was that last night? The easiest analogy is it was like watching the retarded kid in the corner of the classroom work his darndest to pass the final so he could advance with his classmates. Oh, it's so cute to watch the retarded kid sweat, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth to indicate intensity. The retarded kid tries so hard, and he's so proud of himself when he gets something right.

But, really, and, c'mon, what the fuck was that? Maybe it was just the image of a man so lacking in self-reflection that he can't even bring himself to admit he made a mistake. And the press gave him chance after chance to remake himself into the warrior who learns from his errors. Goddamn, all we want out here is an acknowledgement from our leader that we fucked it up and we're gonna do better. Not this macho nonsense. Remember: our contemporary heroes all have doubts about what they're doing. The film warriors we adore are reluctant ones. Not giddy with the possibility of violence.

The only way it could have been more embarassing was if he had actually shit himself in the moment when he was asked, "After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have learned from it?" The long pauses, the frantic attempt to joke (although making the frightening admission that it seems that reporters submit their questions in writing in advance of the press conference), the refusal to answer the question (or any question, for that matter), it all bespoke an ego run amok, caught offguard, unable to move from the glare of the spotlight. When Bush said, "I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet," we have some right to wonder, "Gee, if this is how he reacts to a question at a press conference, how does he react when he has to make a real decision or offer an opinion on policy? Or does he?" In other words, if we can't trust you to answer a question with something more than "I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have," then we have the right to question if we can trust you in sending troops to war.

Fuck it. More later.