Another Rat Deserts The Sinking Ship

So long, Alberto. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out. First the neocons fled (Wolfowitz, Rumsey et al) now the Texas cadre is out (Rove, Gonzales, etc). Will Cheney be next? We can only dream. We need a new scorecard to recognize the new players. Is it possible that George II is going to have to think for himself? Don't hold your breath. Even Condaleesa is being written off as ineffective and irrelevant. The Economist magazine did a devastating hit piece on her earlier this month.

Lest we get too carried away, though, all these departures do nothing to serve justice, which is even blinder than usual these days. I had been hoping, however forlornly, that a Democratic President would pursue criminal prosecutions in 2009, when ALL of the rats have been thrown off the ship, but as the candidacy of Hillary the DINO becomes more likely every day, we are unlikely to see any justice whatsoever, despite the most egregious list of high crimes and treason in American history. As I have been noting for many years, the so-called opposition party is much too interested in their own re-election and much too frightened of overturning the ship of state (they are all up there in the first class section, while the rest of us are shoveling coal down in the engine room).

Unless the economy collapses completely (which is still possible but unlikely), there is no hope whatsoever of meaningful change. There are just too many comfortable folks, who go to Michael Moore's movies and read the right books, and salve their consciences with charity and clever articles in "liberal" publications, but they will do just about anything to hold onto their own privileges and advantages.

And, speaking of privileges, don't waste any time worrying about the welfare of those discredited rats as they bail out. One of the unwritten rules on the upper deck is that they take care of each other. When they lose one fat paycheck, they get handed another one as soon as the vacation is over. There is always a Commission, or a lobbying job, or a CEO vacancy. Everybody up there owes everybody else for their success, so there is always payback waiting. In this White House, there is also the threat of exposure, which can be used as blackmail if another cushy job (or Presidential pardon) is not immediately available. The name Scooter Libby comes to mind. Coincidence?

We need a combination of Tom Paine and Martin Luther King Jr., and there are no applicants for the job. God help us.