Musings 71--Shock and awe!

Since I got home late last night, I decided to watch the repeat version of Keith Olbermann's Countdown. It comes on at midnight in the eastern time zone.

It has to be said up front that Mr. Olbermann doesn't think much of Mr. President. He makes no bones about it. Maybe this is the reason I like him. I think me and some guy in Maine are the only people who watch him on cable television. Olbermann's rating really aren't that good, but the content of his shows are far and above the competition. I guess that just proves that quality really does not play well across the "good ole" USA.

But anyway, I tuned in just in time to see the rerun of Mr. President having his "conversation" with the troops in Iraq. To say it was stunning would be an understatement. I think it was more "shock and awe" on my part.

I could not believe that Mr. President would attempt to have a scripted conversation with the "troops." Well, maybe not the troops but a bunch of officers and one lone Iraqi soldier who was a real conversationalist. "I like you," he said to Mr. President. Now that is an original line.

Does it not say something about a President of the United States that is afraid to face the guys he has sent to war--without a script! Also, the real guys doing all the heavy lifting are the enlisted folk. Where were they?

Mr. President fumbled and bumbled his questions. The officers grinned like cheshire cats and then Mr. President dropped his earpiece...not once, but twice. I was embarrassed for him, which is hard to do when there are only the wife and the cat in the room. It made me sick to my stomach to watch such a poor display by Mr. President. I just stared at the tv in, as previously stated, "shock and awe".

It goes without saying that Mr. President is not much of a public speaker. He does not handle adversity well. It was evidenced on NBC when Matt Lauer was questioning him about his supreme court pick--Harriet Meirs. He blinked and squirmed and shifted his weight. He looked like he wanted to hit someone. Maybe he should have clobbered Lauer. God knows it would have helped their ratings, and it probably would have helped Mr. President's base in all those "red states."

I suppose that with Karl Rove tap dancing for his life before the special prosecutor, there is no one left to keep Mr. President from himself. It is sad that we have given the office of president to a guy that is definitely in quicksand over his head. That look on his face when he was reading "My Pet Goat" is still a very telling moment.