So, Like, We're Just Eatin' Cake Here?:
A quick one here - just a few questions: Do you think when the mob was eviscerating the American contractors in Fallujah that the President Tivo'd the event so he wouldn't miss a second of the NCAA tournament? Do you think that his enemies quake in their shoes when they see him in his faux cowboy outfit on the ranch, declaring from his vacation home that U.S. resolve is "unshakeable"? Do you think that the President should be in video conference contact with his security team from his vacation home while soldiers are dying at an alarming clip (scroll down)? Do you think the families of the dead are comforted by the fact that Bush is "mourning the lives" lost in the comfort of his Crawford estate? Do you think he should maybe skip a fundraiser or two in order to command, being, you know, the Commander-in-Chief and all? Is there a point where maybe, just maybe, as we see Bush at photo-op after photo-op, at campaign dinner after campaign dinner, at vacation after vacation, that we should ask, "What the fuck are we paying this guy for?"

Ya know, in many other countries, England, for example, the royalty takes no role in the affairs of state other than to make speeches. Oh, sure, every year, the Queen gets up before Parliament and gives a kind of "State of the Kingdom" speech, and everyone is expected to react with awe at the grandeur and respect at her willingness to grace the common political process with her presence. But, really, and c'mon, how much does the Queen know about the vicissitudes of daily life in the U.K.? When one has people in costumes bring one the gold-plated Depends upon a purple, veiled pillow, can one really say one is in touch? Ahh, but the British, they love their royalty, they love the gossip, they love the pomp, and they honor the Queen. But they don't listen to a word she says. Because she can't do jack shit about anything.

And so it now seems, endlessly, with our Tourist-in-Chief, who seemingly has all the time in the world to fulfill the ceremonial duties, to be the front man, to, in essence, be the main publicist for the ideology that guides his administration. But like every child of the rich before him, he never has to work a day in his life.