Why would anybody, let alone the Dems who just took back power--some power; how much has yet to be determined--take anything that Bush says seriously?

Take Donald Rumsfeld--please. Six months from now, the "resignation" of the long-expendable Rummy will be seen to have all the inevitability and all the signifiance that Britney handing K-Fed his walking papers had. "Strong signal"? Like Wearing blue ties? Oh, puh-leeze. Since when is passing the buck to a subordinate and heaving him over the side sending any other kind of signal than business as usual continues in the Bush administration? Now, handing Rummy over to a war crimes tribunal, that would be some signal.

And take the Baker Commission. Last I saw Jim Baker, he was on the teebee, red-faced, sweating, and shouting, helping the other "adults" steal Florida 2000 for Bush. And I'm supposed to see 41's consigiliere as some sort of "elder statesman"? Even if I made the assumption that the criminal Bush regime was America's natural ruling party--an assumption the teabaggers of the Beltway press, desperate to preserve the plunging values of their Rolodexes, clearly make--would I be inclined to regard Baker's innocuously named "Iraq Study Group" as anything other than a crude Republican attempt to leave the Democrats holding the bag for the Republican Clusterfuck that is Iraq, while electing a Republican in 2008?

Well, actually, yes, I would.

Take the Constitution. Because that's what the Republicans want to do:

The Republicans, as usual, are using a layered architure, though maybe a "shell game" metaphor would be more appropriate:

1. The superficial layer is the kabuki of personnel changed: Exit Rummy, pursued by a weasel. Naturally, our dysfunctional press focussed on this layer, this bright shiny object, immediately, and so it achieved its purpose.

2. The next layer is the Iraq war itself. Beltway dicussion, news coverage, et cetera, will no doubt focus on this story intensively from now through January--sucking all the oxygen from anything else the

3. The final layer is the Republican project itself: replacing Constitutional governnment with authoritarian rule. The goal of the Iraq Study Group is to allow the Republicans to complete that project before 2008. They have, in fact, already signalled their intention to "consolidate their gains" and do exactly this. And since all the focus is on layer 2, the Iraq Study Group, the consolidation of the Republican authoritarian system can continue unnoticed and unchallenged.

Grover Norquist was right: Bi-Partisanship is a synonym for date rape.

When your enemy's drowning, throw him an anvil. Why would any Democrat do anything different to James Baker?

We're in the midst of a Constitutional crisis. Do Reid and Pelosi even understand that?

NOTE Not that there's anything wrong with teabagging; it doesn't frighten the horses any more than beaver munching does. Oops, forgot to add that "Not Winger Safe" disclaimer before I wrote that. Sorry.