Bush and the Bubble People -- Atlanta Constitution's brilliant Bookman

[Merlin]

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It is a small gem by Jay Bookman

Bush isn't the only one in a bubble

Published on: 10/23/04

...
Bush has earned a reputation as "the bubble president" because he is told only what he wants to hear from his staff, exhibits little curiosity about conflicting points of view and is so insulated that only ardent supporters are allowed at his public appearances. The PIPA poll suggests that the problem goes deeper still: The bubble president is the preferred choice of bubble people, Americans who are themselves insulated against inconvenient fact and hear only what they want to hear.

It's hard to see that as anything but willful self-delusion. Deep in their hearts, many Bush supporters have to know that the pre-war case for invading Iraq has collapsed, leaving us with a looming disaster. But they don't dare to admit that fact, not to themselves, not to others and certainly not to a pollster on the telephone.

They know where that would lead. They know that once they let that little bit of reality penetrate their bubble, they would be forced to confront the even more daunting fact that they had been fooled and misled by the president, a man in whom they placed so much faith. That's particularly difficult for voters who see politics as an extension of the culture war, and Bush as their champion. Admitting the truth about him seems like disloyalty.
...

<<More -- he saves the best for last>>

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/bookman/index.html

[bread_and_roses]

1. Bubble people indeed

<snip> An astounding 75 percent of Bush supporters still believe that Iraq was providing support to al-Qaida, according to a poll this month by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland. Astonishingly, 72 percent believe that Saddam possessed WMD or major WMD programs at the time we invaded.

According to the poll, only 17 percent of Bush supporters accept the fact that the United States is less trusted and admired today than it was four years ago; only 31 percent accept the reality that most of the world opposes our intervention in Iraq. <end snip>

[bunkerbuster1]

2. Bookman's quite good, but

considering that his column runs on the same page as James "I'll Kiss Bush's Ass for Nickles and give change" Wooten's, that could make anyone look pretty freekin' brilliant.

[Miss Authoritiva]

3. I can't believe that a country with this many people in denial about

their president can be functioning effectively. If fact, I know it isn't. I guess the question is: how much longer can it go on? Even with a Kerry win, there's such an enormous number of people who need to catch up with what's been going on in the real world -- assuming they're willing.