InstaPundit quotes Tim Cavanaugh, but gets stuck on this just like Cavanaugh did.
How such a small man had such a big effect is something future historians, with their smellevision and massive frontal and parietal lobes, will have to puzzle out.
The fact is that Bush is not a small man. Future historians are, I think, going to compare Bush favorably to Lincoln. (I've commented throughout the life of this blog about the uncanny Civil War parallels I've seen.) Both men were hated by people who were doing everything they could to destroy the country. Both men were pathologically honest. But both men also would support a given policy or person until that policy or person was demonstrably unworkable -- at which time both men would drop the policy or person like a hot rock, without a moment's remorse. (OK, maybe Bush has a way to go on learning when to drop policies or people, but still, he did drop Powell when it was clear that Powell was more of a hindrance than a help -- but not one moment sooner than he had to.)
I think that, secretly, the nearly half of the electorate who voted for Kerry, in the inmost regions of their hearts, are thankful that George Bush is president. Kerry would have destroyed the country, much as McClellan would have. Bush is still managing to hold it together -- much as Lincoln did.
People see this. They see that the man doesn't fight dirty -- that he genuinely believes in the cause -- that he genuinely hurts every time his countrymen hurt, regardless of party or politics.
I don't believe the polls. I see what I see. Bush definitely pisses me off by some of the things he does, like trusting certain people too much and pandering to the Muslims -- kissing 'em when he should be kicking 'em -- but by the same token, I don't even want to think of the mess we'd be in if Kerry had won in '04, or even if Gore had won in '00.
So I've just got to hold my nose and vote Pubbie this time. Because voting Dumb, throwing my vote away on a third party, or not voting at all -- these are all worse alternatives.
Plus, as Rush always says, the Democrats are funniest when they're out of power. And God help us, we might even retire that senile old bitch Julia Carson before it's over. That would be a laugh riot.
