Saint John, he of the "Straight Talk Express", has turned into one lying sack of shit. In old aviator parlance, he's hit the ramp, taken a cut-pass, screwed the pooch...you name it, he's now done it. In everyone else-speak, Dude's done Jumped the Shark.

I used to like John, even though he's an unapologetic Reagan republican, and pretty unwavering in his conservative views I always thought better of him than most politicians. Because of his background? Perhaps. Because I met him and liked him when I was an impressionable young Enswine at Cecil Field? Maybe. But mostly because, even with all the bad points against him, after his trials and tribulations as one of the Keating Five, I figured that he'd value honesty over expedient political deceit, maybe because he was willing to work with Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform and take on the solons of Conservitard-dumb, I mistakenly believed that he'd at least hew to the principles of his alleged mentor, Barry Goldwater.

No, Saint John is just another low-life, vote-pandering pol whose primary purpose in life is self-aggrandizement on a truly Liebermanian scale. (Hey, I'm gonna invent the Lieberman-Nader Scale of Politcal Self-Aggrandizement...more to follow).

So what's this rant about? Here's St. John today:

Republican Sen. John McCain, a staunch defender of the Iraq war, on Tuesday faulted the Bush administration for misleading Americans into believing the conflict would be "some kind of day at the beach."
...
"I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required," McCain said. "Stuff happens, mission accomplished, last throes, a few dead-enders. I’m just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be."

I don't hear him calling for his "Good Friend and Distinguished Colleague, the Gentleman from Kansas, Mr. Senator Roberts" to get off his 100% bought and paid for corrupt ass and release the alleged investigation into the mis-use of intelligence by the NeoCon Cabal and the 1600 Crew that fomented this war.

McCain, and a tiny minority of senators currently serving can personally attest to the horrors of war first-hand. For any of them, especially McCain, to now be sitting there and clucking soporifically about the "bad intel" to soothe the base and make them believe that he's always opposed Beloved Leaders Excellent Adventure and the choices made by the Minions of Gozer running the show is pure bullshit.

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly. This was the reason that the President felt so strongly that we needed to take military action to disarm Saddam Hussein, since he would not do it himself.

As the military effort continues, I think you will see information develop for yourself, firsthand. This is one of the reasons that there are so many reporters present with the military. In many ways, you will have these answers yourselves. You are there, you are on the ground. And you will find the answers and they will speak volumes themselves.

Q So you expect the weapons will be found?

MR. FLEISCHER: There's no question. We have said that Saddam Hussein possesses biological and chemical weapons, and all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes.

And Saint John said nothing.

So, it looks like the Yellow Elephants have been successful in their "avoidance at all costs" strategery of making sure that someone else will fight their battles for them. The Marines are now getting ready to start recalling IRR members to Active Duty, with orders to Mess O'Potamia in hand.

The U.S. Marine Corps said Tuesday it has been authorized to recall thousands of Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
...
This is the first time the Marines have had to use the involuntary recall since the early days of the Iraq combat. ...

Is it any wonder that they're having a hard time finding "volunteers" to head to Southwest Asia? I suspect that they guys just off active duty who would not have ever left their units until the whole unit rotated home are gonna be less than thrilled to be getting another view of the camel spiders, battle with the heat and the IED's and wonder if they'll be as lucky going back to beard the lion one more time.

I hope that by the time they get around to calling anyone up again there's a Democratic congress, and an exit strategy being discussed. The sad fact is that for as long as Preznit Fails At Everything is at the White House he's never going to willingly allow a single soldier, sailor, airman or Marine to be brought home under the aegis of being "withdrawn". Given that he's failed at every endeavor in his life, except being the Ceremonial Head of State in Texas, he can't allow himself to be branded with the failure of his Excellent Mess O'Potamian Adventure too. That would lead to some real silence at the dinner table in Kennebunkport after January, 2009.

Besides, there's an intern he hasn't farted for yet...

Note to all the piss-ants who stood by Preznit Decider and his veto of the stem-cell research bill:

"Because of my strong opposition to embryonic-stem-cell research, I hereby pledge that should I, at any point in the future, develop diabetes, cancer, spinal-cord injuries or Parkinson's, among other diseases, I will refuse any and all treatments derived from such research, at home or abroad, even if it costs me my life. Signed, ______"

Not me. Sorry if that's kind blunt, but you know what? They made their own beds...let them lie in them.

You gotta love the smell of fear wafting off the power elite and their paid punditry. Remember how we went into Iraq for ...er...something? Oh, yeah, "spreading democracies and freedoms".

David Brooks (subscription required):

"...polarized primary voters shouldn't be allowed to define the choices in American politics."

Remember, according to Brooks if the rest of America (the coasts especially the Left One) were more like Flyover Country we'd all be just hunky-dory. Now if all those disgruntled partisan voters would just stay the fuck away from the polls, why it would be Morning in America again!

I'm Mourning in America because the New York Times actually pays Brooks to write that crap. I'm sure there's a good white-power website that would pay him $5.15 an hour and all the Prussian Blue albumns he could carry in the trunk of his car to the next Gun Show in the Meadowlands.

1. McCain's Ramp Strike
   
2. Alrighty, then...
   
3. Sign Zee Paper...
   
4. Bobo Democracy