It's been a very bad year

This hasn't been the best of years for the current national political leadership. In fact, it's been a very bad year. The President completely misread the public in regards to revamping Social Security and yet continued to press forward with his proposals because no one in his inner circle dared confront him with the truth, even though all the polls indicated a lack of support for his proposal. This attitude on the part of his inner circle has been prevalent throughout his presidency. It seems no one is willing to confront him with the facts and the truth for fear of who knows what, so he continues to trudge off in directions the American people oppose, completely oblivious to the fact.

The war in Iraq continues and the American public becomes more disenchanted by the day. Bush's approval rating is below 40 percent and, for the first time, half of the American public now say that the Iraq war was a mistake. He appears to be oblivious to this as well. In a staged teleconference with soldiers stationed in Iraq this past Thursday, Bush told the hand-picked soldiers that the American people were behind the war effort and that "You've got tremendous support here at home."

The staging of the teleconference has already come back to haunt him. The Associated Press writes that it was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the troops were hand-picked, five of the 10 soldiers selected were officers, and the questions he asked the soldiers were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday's vote on a new Iraq constitution.

Also according to the AP, Paul Rieckhoff, director of Operation Truth, an advocacy group for U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, denounced the event as a "carefully scripted publicity stunt."

But the Iraqi situation is only the tip of the iceberg. We've talked in this column before about the shameless political grandstanding this Administration participated in during the Terry Schiavvo debacle.

Then there was Hurricane Katrina. The Head of FEMA was roundly criticized by members of both parties for dropping the ball in the aftermath of the hurricane, primarily because his appointment to FEMA was due to the fact that he was a friend and loyal supporter of the President, rather than having any real experience or expertise in emergency management.

The criminal indictments of Tom DeLay, and the suggested corruption and possible indictments of Jack Abramoff, Karl Rove, and other top Administration officials, although not directly affecting the President, certainly impacts him negatively, as well as the Republican Party.

We often forget that before September 11, 2001, this Administration was also on thin ice, desperately trying to develop a continuity of direction and purpose. After a slow start immediately after the attacks in which he appeared to be weak and indecisive, he regained his sea legs through rhetoric more than anything else and rallied the American people in the new war against terrorism. This tact had staying power and kept his approval ratings at an artificially high level for a long time.

He has since come back to earth, as the latest poll numbers suggest, and yet the screw-ups continue. His latest faux pas is the selection of good friend and personal lawyer, Harriet Miers, for one of the vacant seats on the United States Supreme Court. Miers has never been a judge, yet he's nominating her for the highest judgeship in the land. This decision even has his conservative base spooked.

Jay Leno, host of the Tonight Show, said the following the other night:

"Interesting woman, Harriet Miers. She was a Democrat, found God, and then became a Republican. Which is kinda backwards. Usually in Washington, you become a Republican, get indicted, go to jail, and then find God."

Looks like more Republicans will have that opportunity in the near future.

The President as well as the Congressional leadership of the Republican Party appears to be unraveling before our very eyes. As much as the Republicans wish they did, they obviously have no more particular skills or abilities to "do what's right" than the Democrats they so roundly and continuously criticize.

On the other hand, evidently a grand party was held locally the other night to help Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, kick off his re-election campaign. I use the word "evidently" because I wasn't invited, and neither were several other Democrats I know. There aren't that many of us, you know. Only 2,174 out of almost 7000 registered voters in Red Willow County. Although Mr. and Mrs. Korell are prominent and respected members of our community and the Frank Lloyd Wright house they call home is something to behold, it seems that the Democratic Party, in keeping with its historical obligation to the "common man" should have held this get together at the fairgrounds and invited everyone to attend. Who knows, they may have even collected more money.

Politics ... Sours my stomach sometimes.