Translating Al Gore

"I haven't completely ruled out running for president again in the future, but I don't expect to."
Former Vice-President Al Gore, 9/15/06.

Translation: I really wish someone would ask me to run for President again. I know it will happen; I just have to keep my name in news -- put out a movie, go on the MTV Awards, write a new book. . .

Falling Back into Old Habits

The Bush Administration has had a rough row of it the past couple of years. Fueled by the (mis)handling of the Iraq war, post-Katrina recovery (not to mention the near-constant promotion or adulation of those who make serious mistakes), etc., it has not been a happy-go-lucky time for the Bushies. What do you do when your political back is against the wall? Take it to the next level (guys in backwards hats who have subscriptions to Maxim will use the term "go big or go home" to describe this typ of situation).

But how do you do this? If you are a member of the Bush administration, you accuse your opponents of being: (a) cowards; (b) morons; (c) unpatriotic; or (d) all of the above. It worked for the 2004 election, so they've gone back to the tried-and-true.

Examples:

• "[T]here is a difference between healthy debate and self-defeating pessimism." VP Cheney, 8/29/06, in a fairly subdued comment for him (as opposed to this)
• "[I]t is apparent that many have still not learned history's lessons." Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld, 8/29/06, trying to make the "Hussein as Hitler" analogy. He is evidently unaware of the rule that once you invoke Hilter in an argument, you automatically lose.
• "It seems that in some quarters there's more of a focus on dividing our country than acting with unity against the gathering threats." Rummy, 8/29/06, apparently operating under the presumption that dissent equates with willful ignorance.

Oh, and don't forget to mention September 11 as much as possible:

• Although we've been in the struggle against terrorism for nearly five years now, the terrorists were actually at war with this country long before 2001. And they were the ones on the offensive. Over time, they came to believe that they could strike America without paying a price -- because they did so many times in the 1980s and '90s. Eventually, of course, they hit us here at home on September 11th, 2001. VP Cheney, 8/29/06, once again shamelessly attempting to blur lines between the Iraq war and the Al Qaida 9/11 plot.

However, VP Cheney does not pay attention to his boss's statements, who made clear the week prior that Iraq had nothing to with 9/11 (thankfully, there is even video), not to mention his statements of 3 years ago. Then again, consistency and accuracy did not win the White House, so who am I to nitpick?

Back by Popular Demand

Like the neverending KISS farewell tour, CNB has returned once again. The lack of posting has been driven partly by a busy work schedule, but also by the fact that it seems that there is nothing to add to the 12 million (a low estimate) blogs out there that cut and paste various news stories (with a "read this" link), or to those who actually have jobs as commentators.

However, I had more than one person request that CNB return. It may have been the number of drinks I had, but the requestors appeared to be serious. Only actual comments will prove their seriousness, I guess.

Thus, the waste of bandwidth that is CNB is back. Alert the media, as something needs to take over from Glenn Ford's death as the lead news story. Admit it, you thought he was already dead, didn't you?

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

For the one person I know who reads this (Hi Steve!), the title could refer to the fact that I am actually posting something. However, this refers to the surprise visit that Pres. Bush made to Iraq today. I've noticed that anyone of any import who visits Iraq tends to do it on a "surprise" basis: Rumsfeld, Rice, Hastert, Cheney, Tony Blair, assorted governors, and even Denmark's prime minister (Kerry forgot Poland, so don't feel bad about forgetting about Denmark).

It seems the only people who make planned visits to Iraq are the soldiers we keep sending over there.

Three Things I Ran Across on the Internet

1. Olbermann Watch -- A site by a guy who very clearly really, really dislikes Keith Olbermann. While Keith is clearly no fan of President Bush, I don't equate him to the right-wing folks who use stupid terms like "Democrat Party." I got bored with the first few posts, so I did not read far enough to see if it was Olbermann's perceived bias that bothers the author, or the possible non-Republican viewpoint. One would think, if it were perceived bias, he would be equally as peeved at O'Reilly, Hannity, etc., but methinks it is the viewpoint being espoused that irks him. Thus, it is just a retread of 50 billion other sites out there. Then again, so is this one. . . .
2. White Daisy Passing by Rocky Votolato -- A song I cannot stop listening to. It evidently has been featured on “The O.C.” and was recently featured as the NPR “Song of the Day,” but I just ran across it while perusing the Barsuk Records website. It is a simple and folky song from a guy listed as “a soft-spoken, very hard-working 28-year-old father of two.” Can’t ask for much more than that. I even sent this to the guy who runs the Audiofile Daily Download, hoping others will get to enjoy it.
3. My brother on NPR's Day by Day -- you may have heard about the Harvard Medical School study concerning the effect (or non-effect, as it were) of intercessory prayer upon the recovery of post-operative heart patients. What you likely did not know was that one of the co-authors of the study was my brother Jeff (or Dr. Jeffery Dusek, if you must be so formal). If you have three minutes, you can listen to his interview on NPR, which will likely raise your intelligence quotient and make you impervious to personal insults. If not, contact NPR. By the way, prosecutor Jeff Dusek out in California is not my brother.

The Numbers Never Lie

Few are surprised by Pres. George Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel "Scalito"Alito to the Supreme Court. After either playing to the wrong portion of his "base" or making another of his crony picks with his Harriet Miers nomination (possibly both, depending upon your viewpoint), Pres. Bush proved that he still had folks reading the paper for him. Thus, George Will and Charles Krauthammer (not to mention Sen. Sam Browneye Brownback) should feel as though their work was not in vain.

However, trying to right a wrong for the right (clever, eh?) was not the sole motivation. Rather, Pres. Bush's 39 percent job approval is the reason Pres. Bush has decided to that his stores of political capital are difficult to locate. Neither Pres. Clinton nor Pres. Reagan (the last of the two-termers) ever fell below 40 percent approval, even at the height of their respective scandals. It could be worse for W, though -- Richard Nixon hit a low of 23 percent.

What Bush Meant to Say About Libby

After Irving Libby (this "I. Lewis Libby" stuff is getting annoying, and I refuse to call a grown man "Scooter") was indicted on five counts, Pres. Bush said Libby has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people." What Bush meant to say was that Libby has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people who aren't named Valerie Plame. He didn't work so hard for her."

CNB Backhand of the Day Award

The Official CNB Backhand of the Day Award (given for the public comment that serves only to show the commentee who's boss) goes to Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS). Sen. Lott, a man who knows public relations problems firsthand, decided to be the first to let now-former Supreme Court nomineee Harriet Miers know just where the door should hit her on the way out.

“Let’s move on. In a month, who will remember the name Harriet Miers?”

Yes, public criticism of her entire career was not enough -- why not speculate that she will quickly fade into obscurity as well? For that kick in the pants on the way down, Sen. Trent Lott gets the CNB Backhand of the Day Award. Keep up the good work, Senator.