It was a grand night for our duly selected prez. He was so pleased to be giving this last speech you could practically see the bristles through his suit. He came out through a press of people with hands waiting to be grasped, and grasp he did. He shook hands, thumped shoulders and actually rubbed one man’s head. It was like watching an exalted quarterback entering the field for his last game before some known tragedy would take him up and fictionalize him as a humble god-man for the silver screen.

And then the speech. Oh, he preened, he pointed, he told us all the lies we already knew. He mentioned the economy might be in trouble; Afghanistan was getting along great; We need to see it through with Iraq; Iran better watch out; We need to continue to lead the world to clean up the environment; We love Africa; We love our boys in the military; No Child Left Behind works–because–test scores are up in English and “Mash” and blacks and “Hispanish” kids are doing real good too!

I kinda lost it after he said “Mash” and “Hispanish.” At first I didn’t believe it, so I rewound the DVR thingy on the cable box and listened again. Yup. “Mash” and “Hispanish.”

All the congress critters, judges, generals and invited dignitaries, dupes and dummies raved over his words at all the planned pauses, clapping and standing in ovation. They roared their pleasure so many times, I thought if I closed my eyes, I’d hear the band start playing and smell the heady whiffs of marijuana. But no, it was Bush they were cheering, for the words they all knew were coming. And I thought to myself again, but this time I thought, “There’s not a principle or a spine anywhere in that room.”

and my brain shut down and i stopped listening and wandered off to find some small comfort in an old fantasy.