How has this happened?

[Canuckistanian]

How has this government managed to acquire so much power, yet screw it up so badly?

They have powerful "think tanks". And polling groups. And legal advisors. And public relations gurus. And political "dirty tricks" wizards. And military experts. And the DC pundit class. And a compliant, spineless, unquestioning and sycophantic media. Even an entire network devoted to singing their praises.

How could they lose?

And yet, they are. Day by day, they're losing the faithful supporters, the reluctant supporters, the wavering libertarians and the independents. And the approval numbers keep going down. And down. And down.

What happened? Where was the disconnect here?

Was the talent they hired not up to the task?

Bush... well, Bush is Bush. A loser from day one, he has been propped up in one way or another since he was a teenager. We all know the stories. In my mind, he's almost incidental to this disaster. I have zero evidence that he's EVER taken good, sensible advice. But then, that's his M.O.

Now Rove. Rove was reputed to be the "Master of the Political Universe". Always working in the background, Karl was. And he had an undoubtable measure of success. The Dan Rather thing was brilliant and should be taught in "Sliming 101" classes in Republican Colleges.

Lott and Delay were the "Scourge of the Legislature", cutting through the impediments and obstructions of the dastardly Democrats to achieve "real" progress towards the conservative "dream" (whatever that is).

Rumsfeld and Cheney had the much-sought-after experience and "gravitas" that would guide the country through times of enormous peril with sober, common-sense judgments.

And Condi? Well, I'm not sure what she was supposed to bring. The Soviet threat ended long ago and that's all she brought to the table.

Gonzo.... well, the less said, the better.

So, with this formidable armament, what went wrong?

[nradisic]

1. Lies, deception and hipocrisy.....

along with some people power...

[Canuckistanian]

3. But why didn't work for them?

Where was the Achille's heel?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. They thought they knew it all

If they had been smart, they would have listened to non-political experts, like the general who told them they needed more troops to take and hold Iraq. And definitely they would have made sure enough non-political professionals were still at FEMA so that Katrina could be handled efficiently. In both of these instances, I don't think they thought beyond their own political agenda, and figured that what happened would mainly happen to foreigners (Iraq) and minorities and poor people (Katrina), and that Americans in general wouldn't care about them.

[Canuckistanian]

11. I think that's the key

"Non-political"

I think that in their world, everyone has already chosen their "side". Or at least the ones that criticize them are declared to be "political opponents"

And that determines their value.

Non-partisans have no value in their world.

[Phredicles]

2. "This is what happens when you put government in the hands of people

who hate government".

Was it William Rivers Pitt who said that? I know I read it recently.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Huberis

the ancient Greeks had nothing on this crew, but knew that the downfall of tyrants is always overweening pride and the idea they were above the law.

[Canuckistanian]

7. Hubris only explains so much

There were HUNDREDS of high officials in this government.

Discounting that ALL of them were total incompetents, there had to be SOMEONE MORAL ENOUGH to put on the brakes, at least marginally on the excesses.

James Comey I would put in that class. He seems to have integrity.

But he's in the minority.

[Bluzmann57]

5. Perhaps the American people are smarter than some think

We are paying attention out here. People see just how fucked up these neocons are and want them out. Soon. We are not all "sheeple", a term I despise by the way. We are thinking, caring human beings who do not want our loved ones to die for no reason, who do not want our standard of living drug down by a small group of rich people, who simply want to be Americans and have hope. That is not asking too much. It's happened before and it can happen again.

[Canuckistanian]

9. Of course, WE're paying attention

And have been since way before day one of this administration.

And if the neocons have been running the show since then, why didn't they exercise some restraint now and then?

The warmongering, the corruption, the greed, the blatant disregard for law.

Did they think nobody would notice?

I see no mitigating force in this bunch of crooks.

They could have had it all if they had slowed down even a bit. The critics would have been silenced enough and the same goal achieved.

[Bluzmann57]

10. I guess it goes back to an old adage

"Power corrupts and total power corrupts totally". It has been proven true again and again throughout history.
And when I said WE're paying attention, I meant all of America, not just DU and those like us. Yes, millions of people voted for bush, but they are finally realizing their mistake. I think that was part of the plan all along. Obtain a second term and shit on everybody. Then get out and count all the money.

[Frustratedlady]

8. Not finding the WMDs was the beginning of the end of support for the war.

It was probably one of the first lies the Repugs caught onto, yet they continued to make excuses for them. But the biggee was Katrina. Both sides came down on them for that one. Most people knew someone that had been affected by Katrina. They didn't even have a good excuse for their ineptness...didn't even try. How can you explain away the floating bodies? Katrina is their Achille's heel.
Let me correct that. Katrina and the image of 3601 flag-draped coffins is their Achille's heel.

[Canuckistanian]

12. Yes, I agree, Katrina was the "WTF?" moment for many Americans

That event that crystallized the opinion of many citizens that maybe, just maybe the government just doesn't give a damn about ordinary people, especially poor, black ones.

[deutsey]

13. Greed, arrogance, lies, incompetence, a self-serving ideology disconnected from reality

[nini]

14. because otherwise intelligent people fell for the fear mongering

they bought the BS that you do not love this country if you didn't jump onboard the right wing's bandwagon. They took the sense of country we all felt on 9-11 and played on those emotions to get their goals accomplished - if you disagreed then you were surely a terrorist loving commie.

The masses closed their eyes and trusted the devil out of fear and ignorance.

[leftchick]

15. it does not matter if they lose support

congress has given them the powers of FASCISM! It has worked very well so far. They have nothing to fear since "Impeachment is out to lunch".

:puke: