A little McBile with my morning coffee

My father had one alcoholic drink every year- a scotch on the rocks on New Years Eve. I may exceed his evening's limit by a couple tonight. I'm sure my roommate and his girlfriend will help.

But Virginia is one of those benighted states (like Iowa used to be) where hard liquor is only available from state stores. As it happens, the only such store whose location I know is in Alexandria- on the way home from church, believe it or not. So this morning when I got off from work, I headed north on 66.

After picking up my bottle of Johnny Walker, I decided to have lunch in Old Town. This meant waiting for the restaurant I had chosen to open. I passed the time in McDonalds, having a cup of coffee and reading a freebee newspaper they apparently distribute in these parts.

It made for interesting reading. A letter had come all the way from California, and in good time, too; it compared President Bush to the Pharoah of the Exodus for waiting too long to say that he was sorry the tsunami killed all those people in Southern Asia.

I wonder whether they had Bill Clinton on a timer whenever a disaster struck. Somehow I doubt it.

Then, too, there was word that Sean Penn is starring in a charming movie entitled The Assassination of Richard Nixon. Both the movie and the interview provide vehicles for Penn's bile against Mr. Bush. It's the true story of a guy who planned to shoot Milhaus, the implication being that somehow he was a sympathetic character- and somehow a kindred spirit to present-day Bush haters, which in too many cases I do not doubt. I have long believed Sean Penn to be a little daffy when it comes to his politics; it seems that, beyond that, he is one sick puppy.

Finally there was an article about how "progressives" (read: liberals who are ashamed of the name) are missing the boat in not being able to do better against a president whose constituency includes- get this- crazed "snake handlers-to put it as nicely as possible."

That's nicely?

An awful lot of bile for one small tabloid that's handed out for free. Frankly, I'm not sure what to think. Clearly the Left hasn't caught on yet to the role their own, ugly spleen played in alienating the electorate and driving a majority of the voters into the President's camp. If they have noticed that they lost the election, they seem oblivious to the fact that continuing that sort of rhetoric at this point is tantamount to calling not only the President, but the American people, idiots. This is not the way to win their support.

So the partisan part of me is inclined to smile. The Left has apparently learned nothing from their failed attempt to win a presidential election on a platform consisting of literally nothing but hatred of a single man. Their self-destructive attitudes and rhetoric continue.

But our country can't go on this way. We simply can't afford to have a major political party with nothing to offer but bile.

As well as this sort of thing bodes for the Republcan Party in coming elections, I really hope- for America's sake- that the Democrats grow up. We need two adult political parties in this country, and right now the Democrats just don't qualify.

Comments