Grand Political Theater

For the first time in a long time, Bush is saying something I agree with. He has criticized the Democrats in Congress for engaging in "Grand Political Theater," and for once he's right. Of course in this particular case, he was referring to the all the threats of a vote of no confidence in his Attorney General, Antonio Gonzales, and all the mess surrounding Gonzo's firings of numerous individuals in his Department of so-called Justice.

And now the investigation has widened to once again bring into play illegal domestic wire-tapping without warrants. For you folks that don't know exactly what that means, it means that President Bush's Administration thinks they have the right by law to wire-tap and listen into private telephone conversations of American citizens without any sort of warrant or recourse. In other words, according to Mr. Bush, you have no right to privacy. Period.

What's worse, the Department of Justice refuses to dole out justice at all, in this case. And so with the two issues of domestic wire-tapping combined with the mishandling of the DoJ firings, the Congress Democrats have lined up the firing squad against Gonzo.

Bush's defense for his appointed Attorney General? An accusation of "grand political theater." He couldn't be more correct when describing what's going on in Congress. The problem is Mr. Bush thinks the stage belongs only to the Democrats. He fails to realize or at least admit that the he himself is the one standing at the center of this three-ring circus.


Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, all three dancing to the tune that the Great Ringmaster plays. In the first ring, to the left, you have legislators spraying each other in the face with seltzer water like so many clowns, arguing about this and that, falling all over each other, complete with kicks to the seat of the pants. But when was the last time they actually accomplished anything worthwhile?

In the second ring, to the right, you have a combination high-wire act and trapeze artist, narrowly avoiding a great fall during a harrowing Senate Oversight hearing, but ultimately landing in the safety net of "I don't recall."

And at Center Ring, the Ringmaster himself presides over the big Elephant show with all the pomp and grandeur of a Barnum & Bailey Big Top. He smartly cracks his whip to the media with trite comments that put the audience at ease about the tent being on fire and burning down all around them. Who are the audience you ask? You have but to look around you. You will likely see your neighbors, your friends, your family, and perhaps you yourself sit on the edge of your seat, holding your breath, in awe of this spectacle. You nervously watch, with the occasional chuckle, knowing all the while that something is amiss, but the entertainment is just so enthralling. You can't look away.

And here we sit, glowing hot bits of the red, white, and blue Circus Tent floating away in a swirl around us. It burns our eyes, but we can't tear ourselves from the entertainment of this Three Ring Circus. Time passes, but there's always a new act just beginning in the next ring. Up next, in the center ring, the clowns from the Legislative Ring will battle it out to see who becomes the next Ringmaster.

As for me, I've lost my appetite for this show. I've sat by long enough, watching the delicate stitching of this old tent burn away. Somebody, please help me grab some water and lets try to slow down this inferno. Maybe one day, enough people will turn their back on this show to put this fire out.