His Master's Voice

Yesterday I commented on the irresponsible "leaders" of the Republican Party. Today, Michael Gerson regurgitates the party memo that, as a commenter in that thread and the Daily Show point out, have transformed Geraldo Rivera into the voice of reason, reinforcing my impression of him as a dim-witted water carrier, slavishly providing an echo chamber for whatever anti-Obama insanity his "leaders" care to spew.

I am so sorry to hear that George W. Bush, Gerson's former lord and master, put the country in peril through the trials of John Walker Lindh, José Padilla, Richard Reid, Zacharias Moussaui.... It's fortunate for us that they made up for it by capturing Osama Bin Laden and the perpetrator of the anthrax attacks, so we could all be safe.

Update: The NonSequitur had me wondering if Gerson deserved a more substantial response to his blather - one that at least pretends he's a serious columnist. Gerson answers for himself with today's regurgitation of the (previously discussed) Republican Party talking points on "dithering" - no, he does not.

Calling Obama the "Undecider"... as contrasted with G.W. whose self-appellation as "a decider" made him the punch line of countless jokes? Telling Obama he's the opposite to the lousy President who put Afghanistan on a back burner so he could pursue a war of choice in Iraq, let things deteriorate until Obama took over and brought marked improvements in the situation, and created a context for the "urgency" - or, more accurately, the possibility of stabilizing the situation - Gerson didn't feel during any of the seven years of Bush Administration neglect? Gerson intends that as an insult?

"As an analogy," says David Kilcullen, an expert on counterinsurgency strategy, "you have a building on fire, and it's got a bunch of firemen inside. There are not enough firemen to put it out. You have to send in more or you have to leave.

The effing place has been on fire for eight years, seven of which passed under the malign neglect of his former lord and master, and Gerson only just noticed? The only thing I can say in Gerson's favor is that he may be the first regurgitator of the memo to use a synonym for "dither", rather than being "that obvious".