Here’s “Dean” Broder on the other purveyors of the slightly stale conventional wisdom:

In its September 2004 issue, Washington Monthly magazine invited 16 smart political observers [snicker]— a [n inside the Beltway cocktail-weiner-scarfing] mix of Republicans, Democrats and independents — to write short essays predicting what would happen if George Bush won a second term.

Grover Norquist, the conservative activist, said Bush and the Republicans would send the Democrats into permanent political exile. Paul Begala, a Democratic political consultant, said Bush would exact vengeance on his political enemies. Several people predicted that he would usher in a new era of good feelings, tackling global warming and avoiding divisive social issues. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Guess who was right?

The one commentator who got it exactly right was Kevin Drum, who runs the magazine’s blog.

Where’s the Fucking link, “Dean”?

“What do we have to look forward to if George W. Bush is elected to a second term?” he asked. “One word: scandal.”

So far, the scandal has not involved the president personally, but the stench of corruption is all around the city — too close for comfort.

Note well, however, that the notion that George Bush is a tyrant exactly as Federalist 47 defines tyrant is not within the bounds of acceptable, Civil, political discourse.

I guess we’ll have to change that…