The more they say "change," the more things stay the same. By the blog editor.   more »

... And O.J., and Michael Vick, and restroom stings, and iPhones, and missing white girls. It's simple: Americans are more interested in the next O.J. trial than in the future of their country. By the blog editor.   more »

And you thought Bush was just one of the worst leaders in American history.   more »

Thanks to the shortcomings of the most divisive president since Andrew Johnson, the nation that once led the world in big ideas, big accomplishments, and big balls has drifted passively into decline. By the blog editor.   more »

No need to worry about global warming, or terrorism, or war, or another Republican administration. The fiscal mismanagement that Republicans have perfected will be the ruin of this country. By the blog editor.   more »

Let's have a moment of silence in memory of the neo-con dream. Then feel free to piss on its grave. From BBC News; by Paul Reynolds.   more »

With Rumsfeld gone and Democrats taking control of Congress, I hereby declare that my faith in the American people has been restored and that I have nothing more to say.   more »

Last month Bush said, "You can't make decisions based on politics about how to win a war." It was, of course, a laughable statement, as he and his party have done nothing but play politics with war and death. But sweet little Condi "Mushroom Cloud" Rice -- she's got her own way of doing it. An analysis by John Prados from TomPaine.com.   more »

"It defies belief that this president and his administration could continue to find new unexplored political gutters into which they could wallow. Yet they do." The latest "Special Comment" from MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." For previous comments, go here.   more »

As if it was necessary: more proof of the harm the Bush presidency has done to our security. From The New York Times.   more »

The louder Bush and his conspirators talk, the faster you should run in the opposite direction. By the blog editor.   more »

It takes a big man to compromise with people he disagrees with. It takes a small man to demand his own way every time. It takes George Bush to further jeopardize our security just to show how "resolute" he is. By the blog editor.   more »

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter imagines how different the world would be had the president of the United States not used the 9/11 tragedy to show his father what a big, strong boy he is -- exacerbating, in the process, the antagonisms and hatreds that led to the attacks in the first place. It wouldn't have been so hard, as Alter makes clear. All Bush would have had to do is be the kind of president he said he would be as a candidate. Oh, and show some integrity. And wisdom. All about as likely as Osama bin Laden manning a suicide hotline, I know. But it is entertaining to imagine an America led by a wise, honest, compassionate Republican. Think of it as a fairy tale for when your kids are tired of "The Three Little Pigs."   more »

"Bush was correct in saying Monday night that 'Our nation is being tested in a way that we have not been since the start of the Cold War.' Unfortunately, it’s Bush’s administration that is testing us -- with its relentless incompetence, attacks on our civil liberties and inability to acknowledge the bankruptcy of its policies." By Robert Scheer; from TruthDig.com.   more »

On this sad anniversary, we consider the two biggest challenges Bush has faced as president and marvel not just at how he's failed, but how he's made things worse. By the blog editor.   more »

"President Bush believes in a set of policies— indeed, an ideology of government—that is not capable of a caring response to a national human tragedy." By Isaiah J. Poole; from TomPaine.com.   more »

And now a brief digression from the Bush administration's disastrous foreign policy to analyze one of the more despicable foundations of its domestic policy -- namely, the right-wing's war on "activist judges." (That is, those who take the Constitution and Bill of Rights seriously.) By Susan Jacoby; from TomPaine.com.   more »

In which the blog editor quotes Forrest Gump to express his incomprehension at efforts by Bush and his party to capitalize on the foiled Brit terrorist plot. (I love that word, "foiled." I expect to hear that dastardly bin Laden exclaim, "Drat!")   more »

I swear I am not making this up. From the Associated Press.   more »

It's nearly a day and a half since the Brits announced that they'd foiled a terrorist plot, and it's still scary story number one on the 24-hour news channels and the network morning shows. It seems the only thing we have to fear is not being fearful enough.

If only we had a strong, manly, resolute leader to protect ... Oh, wait! We do!   more »

The official White House transcript.   more »

Pity the poor Right in the post-Soviet age. "For almost two decades, there has been an empty place in their hearts where global conflict used to be. And without an enemy, conservatives are nothing." (With one, obviously, they're next to nothing.) By Paul Waldman; from TomPaine.com.   more »

Just a thought --

Sept. 11th showed that a terrorist organization could trick its adversary into a ruinous war on Arab soil that does the opposite of what it's intended to; the death, destruction, and misery it inflicts creates new generations of terrorists, not to mention the damage done to the counterattacking nation in the so-called "court of world opinion." Hezbollah learned the lesson well.   more »

Democrats like Hillary Clinton are trying to have it both ways: Voting for and supporting the war, but blaming Bush incompetence for the currrent disaster. Bullshit. This war was a stupid idea from the start, guaranteed to become a fiasco that sucks up lives and resources, destroys our credibility and severely weakens our armed forces. By Bob Herbert; from The New York Times.   more »