Secret Muslims and Bastards: The Case for a 12-month Additional Bush Term

One of the more amusing arguments in the book Freakonomics is that Roe v. Wade led to the steep decline in crime a generation after the ruling.  The book had plenty of moronic spurious arguments but it surprised me how the author restrained himself in asserting that Roe v. Wade didn't also lead to a death spiral in American civic discourse.  

Nothing in my reading of past presidential elections since the 1970s has an election been this ugly.  

This is by far the nastiest election I've ever encountered.  Come to think of it, you have to rewind to the post-Civil War years to find elections this brutal on the candidates.  I've realized sadly that this is just an early phase.  So right now, I am marvelling how it can possibly get worse: Ayers, Whosebastardgate, Secret Muslim, Rezko, Troopergate, Biden plagiarisms, McCain's past, and the general catch-all heading of "Michelle O. Hates America."  Unfortunately, none of the controversies drummed-up for each candidate is going to be resolved by January.  Like Whitewater, they're wounds that will fester and will envelop us all in the same Clintonian drama.  

It just hit me though as I watch Mr. Bush does his press conference on Gustav:  "He's above all this crap!"  I have never in my life watched Mr. Bush complete a sentence but as I watched him, I would have never thought that I wished he was president for a few more months.  The past two years of his administration, he has shown a remarkably adept administration, a COMPETENT administration that was severely lacking in his first 6 years.  He is governing in the best sense of the word.  Right now, with so much mess in this world, he is rock solid as ever, but carries himself with more political savvy.  It's the kind of Bush the "roots" hate because it reminds them of the presidency-in-autopilot of pere Bush.  Without the ravenous GOP Congress, Bush seems to be more at-ease with being president.  

It took 40 years for Truman to rehabilitated.  Bush is going to break that record.