Give Bush a Chance

So last Monday I'm in Fresno having breakfast at Denny's and reading the Chronicle and I nearly do a spit take when I see a letter to the editor headed 'Give Bush a chance'.

Give. Bush. A. Chance.

This one happens to be about Bush's address to the NAACP ("The NAACP should give President Bush a chance by working with him on many issues that concern both sides"), which raises it to a truly transcendent level of stupidity (given that, y'know, Bush rejected every previous invitation to speak) which is compounded when he cites the 1964 Republican party in a positive way ("Remember this, without Republican support in 1964 and 1965, there would not have been a civil rights bill or a voting rights bill", and I'm sure Goldwater is chuckling softly to himself down in Hell).

But that's just an extreme example, and the subject matter is unimportant. The point is that five and a half years into Bush's reign there are still people saying 'give Bush a chance.' The same people, I guess, who still blame Clinton for everything. Who long after January 20 2009 will be saying 'too bad W never got the chance to make everything okay'.

Because even the bitter-enders are having a hard time arguing that catastrophic failure is brilliant success. Because when they finally have to admit that everything isn't as rosy as they've been saying all along, the best they can do is act like it isn't Bush's fault and of course he'll deal with it...if we just give him a chance.

Look, people, here's a simple rule: if you've been president for five and a half years, and if both houses of Congress have been controlled by your party for almost that entire time, and every single thing you've done in office has just created a dozen more problems instead of solving anything, and your attempts to 'solve' the problems you caused yourself cause even more problems, then you don't get any more chances.

[That's all, folks]